The Black Emperor
by Primordial Vortex
Summary: Being forced to carry his innocent sister through a sea of bodies would have broken much older men. For Lelouch, it merely strengthened his resolve. But he was only human, and let his mission slip to one other. Confronted with the possibility of failure and staunch allies in his corner, he swallows his pride and actually prepares himself for his rebellion. AU, harem
1. Turn 01 - The Destruction at Shinjuku

**How is everyone doing today? Yep. I got** _ **another**_ **one. You can thank my muse. Or tell it to fuck off. Either one really.**

 **Despite being pretty wrapped up in Code Geass ideas for the past couple of days, I was pretty hesitant on actually putting this one down on paper, as it were. As I'm sure some of my readers will know; while I can and will write some pretty dark shit on occasion, I'm not really the kind of person who enjoys angst. And boy, is Code Geass chock full of it at times. Despite loving the series when I was younger, there were a fair number of things I could have done without. Euphemia's death for example. I would have been perfectly fine with it had it been done for a reason. I don't shy away from the subject, but I like it when it's** _ **for**_ **something.**

 **Had it been done as an assassination just as she and Lelouch succeeded in creating the Administrative Zone, it would have had a pretty big impact. Lelouch could even have spun it in such a way that revealed a Britannian as the one who did the deed, or perhaps even** _ **caught**_ **the suspect. V.V. definitely would have sent someone to try it. Instead, it was done** _ **solely**_ **to FUCK with him. His Geass** _ **just so happened**_ **to evolve** _ **just**_ **as he** _ **happened**_ **to be** _ **joking around**_ **with his precious sister that he could order her to** _ **murder innocent, hopeful people**_ **. Specifically worded in such a way that she would have had to** _ **exterminate**_ **an entire race down to the last child for the Geass to end, which left killing her the only option. He could have said anything! He could have been joking that he could get her to flash him, or pretend to be a dog! But no, it was** _ **joking**_ **about** _ **genocide,**_ **right next to the sea of Japanese thinking their humiliation was at an end.**

 **And don't even get me started on the ending of the series. I honestly hate Zero Approval Gambits. Sure,** _ **maybe**_ **there's peace for a couple years…** _ **maybe**_ **a couple decades…then what? What happens when all those alive at that time are gone and those that followed forget the lessons of the past? And hey, not a fucking week after I started writing this, we get confirmation of a direct sequel. Guess Zero Requiem didn't quite pan out the way they planned it, huh?**

 **So yeah, I was kinda hesitant on starting this fic, because I know some purists will likely end up not liking it and flaming it. In the end though, I want to write what I want to write. This won't be unicorns and rainbows, but I'm not putting my characters through wholly unnecessary humiliation/trauma conga lines. Now that I started writing it though, I'm pretty happy that I did. I do love this series despite my gripes, and as I was writing some** _ **other**_ **ideas started coming in. I already know what I want to do with the sequel for this.**

 **Pairing: Harem.**

 **WARNING: Lelouch has a pretty different personality compared to canon. Call it the Milly Effect for that one. Chapter 2 will go into much more detail on the reasons for this, though it's hinted at in this one.**

 **ALSO WARNING: Don't be too attached to canon. I'm derailing this train sooner rather than later.**

 **I'm also taking some liberties with the Code. If Suzaku's "Live" could turn him even more superhuman than usual, then I'm pretty sure the regenerating immortals could overcome their human limits too.**

 **-]|[-**

 **This was only one of two ideas I had for a Code Geass fic. I'll describe the second idea, and ask you all to chime in on it. The basic premise of the second idea I had is that Geass and Code are NOT the only mystical forces in the world. Spoiler warning: DEFINITELY inspired by Doctor Strange.**

 **When Lelouch is carrying Nunnally on his back after the invasion, she realizes that he's lying to her about what the smell is. Unable to lie to his sister, Lelouch breaks down and tells her everything. Later when they're safe with the Ashfords, Lelouch and Nunnally discuss and fear that the Ashford family will be prime suspects in hiding them. This causes them to ask Sayoko to flee the country with them, at least for the moment until the heat dies down. Over a period of time, they travel to different places until they come to Kamar-Taj, where they are accepted as disciples. (Nunnally far more easily than Lelouch.) Over time, they both become sorcerers, and in the process Nunnally regains the ability to walk (as well and her eyes and memories). Then when the time comes for the Rebellion, there will be two vi Britannia to contend with, and neither of them will have Geass. And quite obviously, their enemies will not** _ **only**_ **be Geass users either.**

 **Very basic setup here obviously. I also say inspired by Doctor Strange, because I do not want to turn this into a full out crossover. Or at least not for the main story.**

 **So, let me know what you all think of it. Looking forward to your feedback! I'll probably just end up turning this one into a challenge if you guys like it at all. I kinda want to focus on only one code Geass story.**

 **-]|[-**

 **Turn 01: The Destruction at Shinjuku**

 **-]|[-**

"He mustn't die!" The young woman wearing a white prisoner's outfit screamed as she dove in front of him, arms wide in an attempt to protect him. Her hair parted revealing a strange red symbol on her head just as the small caliber bullet pierced through her skull with a quiet hiss, right at the center of the symbol. She crumpled like a marionette with its strings cut, and collapsed to the floor.

"Damn it!" The boy cursed as he collapsed to his knees next to her. He was a handsome boy with violet eyes. He wasn't a bulky boy, but neither was he scrawny. His black hair was a little messy, likely from his time down in the old tunnels. His hand was clenched into a tight fist next to her head, even as he saw her blood ooze out from behind her head. "You bastards…!" He cried out angrily. What a time for him to be caught with his pants down.

"What a shame." The mocking voice of the Captain before him oozed out of his enemy. The boy – named Lelouch – growled. He would kill all of these bastards. "We were ordered to retrieve her alive, but it appears we were too late. It seems she was tortured to death by the terrorists. How does that story sound, Mister Student?" His right hand was behind him, ready to deploy his high-tech, retractable blade. He was fully prepared to charge forward and end all of these sadistic men.

But he never got the chance. Before he could do a thing, he got the shock of his life as the dead girl in front of him reached up and grabbed the back of his neck. His gasp of surprise was muffled as she sealed her lips over his. Immediately the world dissolved in a whirl of color. It was as though he had stepped into an acid trip, as the world turned blue with lightning whirling around him, before being replaced by sheer white. Then he appeared to be travelling through what appeared to be a wormhole, if he had to guess. "What is this?"

He heard the girl's voice, "You don't want it to end, do you? You appear to have a reason for living." It rang all around him, not coming from any particular point. "If you had power, could you live?" Black and white images of the girl started flashing in and out in front of him, before what appeared to be two planets close together appeared, with the sun rising in between them. "In exchange for power, you must make my wish come true. Accept this contract, and while you live in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other. A different providence. A different time. A different life." More images. A field of people with the same mark she had upon their foreheads, standing with their heads down. Then it was back to the whirling wormhole.

He then heard the voice of the man he hated most in this world, "The Ragnarok Connection? So the myth begins again…"

She might have gone on, but Lelouch had already made up his mind, "I accept your contract!" He threw his arm to the side. And then he was back in the real world, the girl as unmoving as a dead girl should be, her golden eyes staring lifelessly at him. Lelouch looked no different, but he _felt_ different. "Tell me…how should a Britannian who hates his own country live?" He stood, holding his hand over his left eye. The previously confident guards sucked in a small amount of air, suddenly feeling intimidated for some reason. It was as if an aura of menace was emanating from the tall boy.

"What, are you some kind of radical?" The Captain asked.

Lelouch was in no mood for games as he uncovered his violet eye, revealing that red, bird-like symbol flapping in it. "Why not shoot? I'm only a student, aren't I? Or have you realized that only ones who should kill are those willing to die?" The gun in the captain's hand started trembling. He tried, but it was as if he could not pull the trigger, "Now… Lelouch vi Britannia commands you…all but the Captain…die!"

The rest of the regular members of the Royal Guard chuckled as their faces became dazed and a red circle surrounded their eyes, "YES, YOUR HIGHNESS!" They roared as one and placed their guns under their chins. With a smattering of gunfire, they all collapsed with blood flying from their heads.

"Now… Answer me!" Lelouch said, stepping gently over the girl and jerking his right arm slightly. With the sound of sliding metal, a large blade extended out from under his uniform. It was white in color, with red designs inlayed, "Why are you after this girl?"

The Captain droned, "Prince Clovis demanded it."

Lelouch frowned, "Why is he after her?"

"She is an experiment. Should she be discovered, the Prince would be disinherited." The guard's voice was flat and monotonous.

Lelouch's expression turned even more severe at the confirmation of his fears. His brother was performing human experimentation, an even worse crime than the production of poison gas being fed to the masses, "Why was she being experimented on?" To his surprise, the guard was utterly silent, " Can you not say or do you not know?" The response he got was for the latter, "I see. So this power will not work as an interrogation tool if you don't know the information I seek." He muttered to himself, "Are you privy to any other vital bits of information that _only_ you know, barring Clovis himself?"

"Yes, your Highness!" The droning of his voice was actually getting rather irritating. He pulled out a drive and handed it to Lelouch, "The code is ZMFA-8041-9823."

"Are there any traps or tracking devices on it?" Lelouch smiled, pocketing the device.

"No."

Lelouch thought for a moment, "Will there be any surprises on the battlefield, should things not go Clovis's way? Additionally, is there anything else I must know?"

"Yes your Highness! There is an experimental Knightmare Frame in the reserve being tested by Camelot. It is not part of the regular chain of command, and is not field tested, but rumors state it to be a Seventh Generation. Camelot's head – a Lloyd Asplund – won't shut up about it."

Lelouch cursed as the man went silent. That was not good at all. Generational leaps in Knightmare technology almost always resulted in the previous generation being rendered obsolete, or at least heading there. The sixth was the only exception, as far as he knew. "Then I release you."

Lelouch smiled as the man regained himself, almost falling in shock as he saw Lelouch far closer than he should have been. "What the!" He could not move a single muscle before there was a flash of light, and his world went sideways. In the last few seconds of his life, he watched as his killer turned around and swiped his blade through the air to clean it. The blade retracted into his sleeve, and the dying Royal Guard idly realized that it should have been impossible for it to hide inside the boy's sleeve. Lelouch stepped away, not getting a drop of blood on his person. He wasn't even paying attention as the head of the guard hit the ground with a thump, following the larger thud of his body.

He walked back to the girl, a thoughtful look on his face. She had definitely done something. The voice he had heard was no doubt hers. Yet she didn't look as if she had moved at all since she was shot. He knelt and brushed the green hair off her forehead, after closing her eyes gently. She had saved his life with her sacrifice, as unneeded as it probably had been. He was fairly certain he would have been able to win here regardless. Only perhaps it wasn't much of a sacrifice after all. He watching in growing disbelief as the wound slowly, but _visibly_ closed in front of his eyes. He then noticed something else that was rather odd. Her green hair wasn't being stained red. The clothes he could understand. They could have been made with that new hydrophobic fabric someone had invented a few years ago. But her hair? That made no sense. ' _She's regenerating._ ' He grit his teeth, "Clovis you bastard. This was why…"

A roaring from outside had him on his feet in a hurry. Sparks flew from the metal doors as they were shredded and a giant purple Knightmare drove in. The 'face' opened, revealing a radar-like device. The pilot inside – a woman – roared out, " **What happened here?! Why is there a Britannian student in the Shinjuku ghetto?** " She grit her teeth, " **Answer me or I'll fire!** " Lelouch stared blankly at her. Her gun roared, giant bullets cutting a ring around Lelouch. He didn't even flinch as his hair whipped in front of his face.

"Come out of there, at once!" He commanded, his eye lighting up with his power.

The woman in the Knightmare growled, " **Who the hell do you think you are?!** "

Lelouch clicked his tongue, ' _Must require eye contact._ ' He put his hands up, "My name is Alan Spacer. My father is a Duke. My ID card is in my breast pocket. I request your protection once you have verified my identity." There was no way a mere Knight wouldn't jump at the chance. Most of them were whores for more prestige.

There was silence for a moment, and then whirling of servos. A hiss of gas filled the room as the cockpit of the machine opened and a woman dropped down on a retracting rope. She had a gun in her hand, "Keep your hands up. I'll take your ID out." She was a dark-skinned woman with silver hair tied in a single tail hanging to the side of her head and a gorgeous figure. She was wearing a purple outfit with a golden emblem covering the front, with a small hole showing a bit of her cleavage.

"Now…Obey me!" Lelouch commanded with a grin.

"Yes, your Highness!" She said in that monotone voice he was starting to dislike. Her eyes took on a bright red ring.

"First, hand me your Knightmare and tell me your name and position!" He smirked victoriously.

"Understood!" She dropped her gun down and threw him the key to her machine, "The code is XG21-G2D4. My name is Villetta Nu. I am a member of the Purebloods."

"Good, now answer my questions. What is your mission in this ghetto?" With this beautiful woman not being a part of the Royal Guard, he would see what she knew. Her orders were bound to be different than those of the Royal Guard.

"We were to search for the poison gas capsule, but our primary mission is now the extermination of the Elevens in this ghetto, as well as the destruction of the city." Lelouch clenched his fist. What had happened to the gentle boy he had known as a child?

With a small twitch of his eye, he answered his own question. Britannia had happened. "Kneel now." She did as she was commanded. He kept their eyes locked, thinking about whether or not he wanted to release her yet. Suddenly, his face lit up as he had an idea, "Stay here and await further orders."

"Yes, your Highness!" Villetta saluted.

Lelouch went up into her Sutherland and started taking in information. He grinned viciously as he noticed an oncoming train full of brand new weaponry inbound. So that was how they were supposed to resupply. He left the Sutherland and walked back to Villetta, "There is a train inbound with new weaponry. You will wait until I have supplied the rebels and then take the last remaining Sutherland there. You will remain hidden with your IFF off the entire time. I've been warned that there is an experimental Knightmare frame being kept back. Should it appear on the battlefield, I will try to cripple it in some manner.

Your mission is to be performed with absolute stealth! Do not get caught! You are to take any pieces of this experimental frame we manage to destroy and hide them somewhere in the tunnels. Make sure that they cannot be found without being told where to look. Afterwards – or if the machine never appears and/or we never manage to injure it – you are to come back to the ghetto on foot. Leave the Sutherland there. Find a damaged Sutherland or ejection cockpit and injure yourself enough to acquire a slight concussion. You will not remember anything that happened in this warehouse or my face, and will attribute your difference in location once you return to normal to your injury. Afterwards, you may return to your normal self. However, in one day, you will _securely_ send me the location to the hidden parts. The best times would be between seven and two at night. Make sure there is zero chance of being discovered. After my confirmation, you are to destroy the evidence and remember absolutely nothing of what you have done for me. Only when all of this is done, may you return to normal. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your Highness!" Villetta shouted.

He felt victory course through him. Lelouch turned from her back to the gorgeous green-haired woman. He glanced at her forehead again and saw that the wound on the front had entirely vanished. The bullet itself had been spat out neatly, and was lying beside her in the puddle of hair and blood. He picked her up in a bridal carry and walked with her over to the Knightmare, quickly getting her settled inside and then racing out of the warehouse. It was a bit of a tight squeeze with her behind him, but he could manage. Villetta walked out of the warehouse with her eyes ringed in red and began her mission.

 **-]|[-**

Milly Ashford was currently sitting outside of Ashford Academy with Nina Einstein and Shirley Fenette, eating her lunch. Milly had blonde, wavy hair, crystal blue eyes, and probably the curviest body on the entire campus. Shirley wasn't too far behind in looks, with her exotic orange hair and yellowish-green eyes. She was looking pretty annoyed, "Are they gambling _again?_ It's like they don't even know they're on the student council! Lulu may be smart but he sure doesn't apply himself properly." She had a pout on her full lips. "If he'd study hard, his grades would be amazing!"

Milly had a small, barely-hidden grin on her face, "Oh, I'm afraid Lulu has never cared much for his grades." She smirked lightly, "After all, he can make far more money with his gambling."

"Madam President!" Shirley squeaked, scandalized.

"I know you only want the best for our dear Lulu," Milly started, but had to cut herself off when her phone began to ring, "Oh bother." She reached into her pocket just as the second ring ended and fumbled with the device. The phone rang a third time just as she pulled it out, and then the phone went silent. She eyed the name on the caller ID, and just barely kept her eyes from widening. Three rings from Lelouch. He needed to talk to her privately, immediately, "Sorry ladies. I'm going to have to run. I need to take this call now."

"Madam President!" The two girls asked in surprise as Milly closed her lunchbox and stuffed it into her bag before almost running away.

Nina – a more petite girl with dark green hair and indigo eyes – blinked in shock, "I wonder what has her so riled up…" She said quietly.

Milly made it to the clubhouse in record time and shut herself in Lelouch's room, already bringing out her phone. But this time, a second device followed it. She hooked it up to the phone and a light on it lit up. The phone hadn't even finished ringing once when he answered, "Lulu!" She cried, "Are you okay? Where are you?"

His voice was calm, which did a lot to ease her, "Of course. I'm in Shinjuku." His next words did not, "Our schedule has moved up."

Milly's heart stopped, "Wh-what?"

"Clovis has ordered every single Japanese in this ghetto to be exterminated to hide his mistakes." Lelouch told her, and she let out a strangled sound, holding a hand to her mouth, "Actually, it would be more specific to say that he ordered _every_ civilian in this ghetto to be exterminated, Japanese or otherwise." Milly swallowed and clenched her trembling fist, "I'm going to take command here."

"But we're not ready!" She hissed at him, "You know we're not ready! We don't have any functional Knightmares and none of the next-gen prototypes are ready! You promised Lelouch! You promised you wouldn't throw your life away when I swore to help you! You swore to l-live!" Her voice broke at the end.

"I'm not, and I will." She hated that confidence in his voice right now…that confidence she fell in love with, "I'll tell you everything when I get home, Milly." She bit her lip, "Now, turn on the TV and tell me what they're saying on Shinjuku."

Milly did as requested, "Nothing." She said finally, after a few seconds, "They're just saying that there will be some traffic restrictions."

"They're not saying why, I'm guessing." She gave him the confirmation he was looking for, "So they're planning on doing as they wish and then releasing whatever story they want afterwards." He tutted, "How…uninspired." He said blandly.

"Lelouch please…" She didn't want to, but she was terrified for him right now. There was no way he could just take command on foot. She said as much to him.

He chuckled lightly, "Who said anything about being on foot? I'm currently in a very nicely equipped Sutherland."

Milly's eyes bulged, "Excuse me?!" She sounded utterly flabbergasted, "But how!"

"Like I said, I'll tell you when I'm home. I have to stop this before even more innocent people lose their lives." Lelouch said, "I'll talk to you later Milly. I need to focus now."

"Please be safe Lulu…" She begged, tears in her eyes, "I couldn't bear to lose you."

Lelouch smiled on the other end, "See you tonight, love." He hung up.

Milly clenched her fist as she fell back onto his bed, "Tonight." She whispered to the silent room.

 **-]|[-**

"Damn you Britannian bastards!" Kallen Kōzuki had a look of rage on her beautiful face and tears in her eyes. She had vibrant red hair spiked up at the sides with two bangs over her face. She had a thin, red headband on her forehead as well as a red sleeveless top which left her midriff bare and leg warmers which went up to her thighs. Her shorts were connected to a strange vest with a hole at her chest, which did absolutely nothing to hide the fact that she was a voluptuous woman. "How could you! They're innocent!" She fired her Slash Harken into a tank which had just mowed down three fleeing Japanese men.

"Kallen! Are you alright?!" Her commander yelled into the communicator, "Can the Glasgow still move?"

"I'm fine!" She yelled back, "I can play decoy! You get the people away from here! We have to make sure that the only ones caught are us!"

"I know that!" He told her, "But they've got us surrounded!"

"Shit!" She yelled as her console beeped, "Only 30 minutes left!" She cursed as two Sutherlands appeared behind her. She quickly pushed her one-armed Glasgow to the brink to escape, dodging around fallen buildings and concrete pillars.

"The west entrance!" She gasped as an unfamiliar voice came through the communicator.

"What?!"

"Use the tracks to head towards the west entrance!"

She growled, "Who are you?! How did you get this code?"

"Does it matter who I am?" Lelouch loosened his school's uniform at the neck, "If you desire victory, then trust me!"

"Victory?" Such a foreign concept truthfully hadn't even entered the gorgeous redhead's mind. After the barest moment of hesitation, she jumped onto the tracks and aligned her Knightmare's Landspinners with the tracks. Her Glasgow raced forward, practically screeching at the effort, "Now what?" She asked irritably, knowing she was being chased. A loud horn in front of her caught her attention. She was careening right towards a train!

"Since you trusted me, you get to win here." The voice told her, "Jump onto the train!"

"Gotcha!" She clenched her teeth and did so. She heard the Sutherland behind get hit, and knew that the horrendously loud screeching was the _train_ slowing down, not the pursuing Knightmare being crushed.

The Sutherland's pilot was a man named Jeremiah Gottwald. He was a fairly tall man with dark blue-green, coiffed hair and a well-built physique. " **It's no fun if you just run.** " He sounded quite bored. " **You can't escape like that.** " He chided Kallen. "Go after the Glasgow!" he ordered his current wingman.

"Yes, my Lord!" The man yelled as he forced his Knightmare to leap over Jeremiah's head, only for two Slash Harkens to rip right through his Sutherland.

"What!" Jeremiah's eyes widened, "Friendly fire?!" He cursed, " **You there! What's your unit?!** " He roared furiously through the Sutherland's speakers, " **The enemy is the one-armed one!** " But the Sutherland hiding in the building merely raised its rifle and started blowing holes into his frame. "It can't be!" He yelled, "How could a terrorist acquire a Sutherland!?" His Landspinner started driving him back, before it exploded from a stray bullet, which blew his Knightmare's entire leg off, "You son of a!" his attention was caught by Kallen, who was charging at him with a battle cry. He grit his teeth and yanked his armrests upwards. His Knightmare's cockpit ejected and flew him to safety, as the frame fell to the dirt.

"You saved me!" Kallen said happily, "How did you get a Sutherland?" She turned, only to find her savior gone.

"Kallen!" She heard her fellows coming up to her, "What was up with that voice?"

" **Huh? He contacted you too?** " She asked as she brought her Glasgow to a knee.

The radio started acting up, "You're the leader?" Lelouch's voice sounded through the radio. "The contents of that train are my gift to you. They're the tools for your victory! If you wish to use them and win, then you will follow my orders! This is important; you must leave _one_ in there, understood?!"

Kallen opened the train's compartments and a gasp ripped itself out of her, "HOW!" Every single compartment was filled with Sutherlands. "Let's hear what he has to say!" She yelled in excitement.

"Woman in the Glasgow!" She answered quickly as she heard his voice, "What is the status of your energy filler?"

"Fifteen minutes tops." She told him.

"Switch out your filler then. You'll be running decoy for us during the upcoming battle."

"Got it!" She said, and went about completing her task.

"I'll contact you all within fifteen minutes to assign code names and give you your next set of instructions." Lelouch told them, and then the radio went silent.

 **-]|[-**

"I'll contact you all within fifteen minutes to assign code names and give you your next set of instructions." Lelouch clicked off the communicator and let out a sigh as he leaned back slightly. He hadn't expected the actual act to be as tiring as it was. Still, this was what he had spent the last seven years planning for. He was beginning far earlier than he had scheduled, but he wasn't about to allow this opportunity to go to waste.

He was absently enjoying the feel of the green-haired girl's breasts on his back when she caught him by surprise, "My, my, how forward of you." Dainty arms wrapped around his waist and she squeezed him from behind, "Not even a first date and you're already getting familiar. Did you enjoy my breasts, boya?" She asked him playfully. She felt quite surprised to have woken up in something other than a puddle of her own blood, ' _Hmm? What's this._ ' She smirked lightly as she felt him up, ' _Well I'll be... Mr. Exercise-Is-For-Plebeians actually has some muscles._ '

' _Odd,_ ' Lelouch mused, ' _Up until she grabbed me she had no heartbeat. Can she control that?_ ' Lelouch delivered his response in a perfect monotone, "Well you did steal my first kiss." He turned around, looking entirely serious, "Please take responsibility."

She couldn't help but snort, "That was as much your first kiss as it was mine." She smirked lightly, "So, planning on defeating Britannia with some stolen Sutherlands are we? That red Glasgow over there-" She eyed the camera displaying Kallen's unit, "looks like it's held together with duct tape and hatred."

Lelouch smirked back, "Duct tape and hatred can work miracles you know. It's not every day that obsolete, mass-produced garbage manages to hold out against a battalion's worth of next-gen units with nothing but the pilot's skill and some subterfuge. She's lasted by herself with one arm and a single unbroken Slash Harken long enough for her energy filler to have run almost dry. Unless I very much missed my guess, she lost both even before we got you out of that capsule. That was more than two hours ago at this point."

The verdette blinked, "…Not bad." She admitted dryly. "You're not quite what I expected, boy. When I wake up from death people usually freak out." Her voice got even drier, "They most certainly don't carry me into Knightmares and use me as a pillow."

"You were certainly comfier than the seat." Lelouch replied airily, "And I stayed in that warehouse long enough to see your wound start to close. Even if I hadn't, the kiss made me suspicious." She smiled slightly, "Lelouch vi Britannia. I usually go by Lamperouge in public though." He introduced himself formally, "And what were you expecting? Cold, dark, and perpetually serious perhaps?"

She blinked again, "You may call me C.C., and frankly, yes." She remembered him back in the Aires Villa. Seeing his mother gunned down had changed the boy, and even before that day he hadn't exactly been the life of the party unless it involved a chess set.

He chuckled, "Those days are long gone. Life is worth so much more when you actually have something to look forward to. My partner in crime, as it were, makes sure I don't turn into an angsty little shit. Blame the Milly Effect, I suppose. If we're to be partners you'll meet her sooner rather than later." Ah, Milly Ashford. She certainly remembered _that_ precocious little thing. So she'd sunk her claws in had she? She was about to respond when he once again caught her off guard, "Don't be too surprised if you end up in bed with her either." He chuckled lightly, "I swear, that girl could talk a nun out of her clothes." C.C. couldn't help but chuckle lightly. He couldn't possibly understand the irony of that statement. But this was interesting. Young Milly turned into even more of a little devil than she had been in her younger years, and had corrupted little Lelouch on top of it. This contract was already looking to be far more fun than any she'd had in decades at least, "But alas, we only have a few minutes left before I need to contact them." He turned around and faced her, smirk gone, "What exactly did my brother have done to you?"

C.C.'s face immediately closed off. She had been trying to avoid thinking of what she had suffered under Code R's tender mercies. But now that it was out in the open, her mind couldn't help but revisit it. And for the first time in centuries, her emotions started bubbling out of her once more. And at the head of it all was a combination of two emotions she had only felt once; sheer, unadulterated rage mixed with the sting of betrayal.

When C.C. had met Charles, Marianne, and Victor she had been living as she had lived for ages; listlessly and exhausted of life. Marianne was the one who managed to get her to feel every once in a while, and she had come to even look at the woman as a friend. It was for her that C.C. had originally travelled to Japan, so that she could keep an eye on her kids. She had been wary of their plan when told of it, but went along with it as it offered her the death she so dearly sought.

Now though, her desire had changed. Over the centuries of her life, she had thought she had experienced all of the pain the world had to offer. But Code R? Oh no, Code R had shown her the folly of that. There was something _special_ about having acid injected into her veins. Or perhaps it was the time they covered her in _Bullet Ants_.

And the worst part of it was…she _should_ have been able to escape. One of the actual benefits of her Code – though most of the time she regarded it as a curse – was the regeneration it offered as a consequence of her immortality. Humans were limited. Their bodies had limits because if they didn't, they would constantly tear themselves to pieces. Stories of desperate mothers lifting cars off of their children held that grain of truth. Desperation could temporarily unlock those limits. Bearers of the Code could _ignore_ them. There was no risk of permanent, debilitating injury. Quite the opposite. She could control her rate of regeneration to the point that she healed just as quickly as the injuries came. The only times injuries stuck around on her body – except for the damnable scar on her breast – were when she allowed them to.

And when she was recovering from being drugged for years. That too, she supposed.

The second Clovis's Code R let their guards down, she should have been able to _break_ them. She should have been able to crush their minds with her telepathy. She should have been able to escape without suffering for a single second longer than she needed to. Instead, she was kept in that container which was too thick and strong for even her to get out of. She was constantly kept on drugs when she wasn't being tortured for the secrets of her immortality or being screamed at by Clovis to give him a 'power.' That he even knew of a 'power' was one of the most telling signs of all.

Victor had likely told him about her and how to seal her away. Even if Marianne was ignorant – which she truly doubted with that woman – Charles was likely just as complicit in her agony as the blonde midget himself. Betrayal was not something she was unfamiliar with, but it stung nonetheless. With something other than lonely, unfeeling exhaustion fueling her for once, she made her decision. Even if it would get her what she desired, she would follow those three no longer. Even if it meant she would have to go another lonely century, she would see them fail. She eyed Lelouch with her jaw set, "I've lived for centuries, boy." She didn't use his name. She knew it would annoy him. "I've been shot. I've been drowned. Decapitated. Burned at the stake." The narrowing of his eyes told her that her words had made him angry on her behalf. "I've been put into an Iron Maiden. I've been drawn and quartered. I've even been stoned. I thought nothing could phase me, and yet, the past few years have given me a new definition of pain."

She caught the movement of his jaw tightening, "Then my dear C.C…" She blinked again in surprise, "How would you like to be the one that kills him?"

Her eyes widened in shock, before a feral smirk almost split her face in half, "Oh, it would be my pleasure." She purred.

Lelouch smirked back, "Now, what can you tell me about this power? I've already learned that it requires eye contact in some form. Cameras don't work."

"That is correct. Geass manifests itself differently in each individual, based on their personalities and inner desires." It was for this reason that she would never offer a child a Geass again. A child's desires were far too mercurial to be trusted with power like that. She only made that mistake once in her centuries of life, and it was one she was not keen to repeat, "As it is a line-of-sight Geass, you will also likely be able to bounce it off of reflective surfaces. However, anything blocking it such as a pair of sunglasses will render it ineffective." Lelouch frowned at that knowledge, "Additionally, it will likely have a range you will need to discover. You will have to discover the rest yourself. Being your contractor does not give me intimate knowledge of exactly how your ability functions. I can only make very-educated guesses based on others like it." C.C. shrugged her shoulders with a little smirk on her lips.

Lelouch pursed his lips, "I see." He thought for a few moments, "That Royal Guard did not look as if he expected me to be as close to him as I was when I killed him. I guess my Geass also damages the memories of my victims."

C.C. looked contemplative, "That is fair to assume. I've seen Geass in the same vein as yours before and they tend to have that effect."

He nodded and turned back around, "We can talk more later. For now, I have a battle to win."

C.C. smiled appreciatively at his confidence. The rage and betrayal she had felt were making the rest of her emotions bleed out as well. She so rarely allowed herself to leave her barriers that her emotions were hitting her far harder than they otherwise would have. It was like someone born blind and deaf being able to experience those senses for the first time. "Alright. Will you need anything of me?"

"I have more questions of course, but those can wait until later. The men I put under my… Geass was it? Anyway, I was told that there might be a potential Seventh Generation Knightmare on the battlefield. If Clovis gets desperate he may deploy it, whether it's truly ready for battle or not." C.C. was frowning. She was well aware of how big of a leap that would be in terms of power if it was a true generational leap, "If it appears, I'd like your help in analyzing it. Also let me know if anyone is sneaking up on us. Other than that…relax and enjoy the show!"

 **-]|[-**

Close to the Settlement, a giant purple mobile headquarters named the G1 was surrounded by Sutherlands as well as medical tanks. Inside, Prince Clovis was receiving info from his staff, "The terrorists are hiding amongst the general populace. They're mounting a small resistance against us. However, our superiority is overwhelming. They've done little more than scratch the paint on our Knightmares."

"Of course." Clovis said blandly, looking bored, "Ignoring that for now."

General Bartley – a bald bad with a monocle and darker skin – bowed, "Of course Prince Clovis. The gas capsule will be -"

"Just as the public thinks." Clovis adjusted himself.

"Indeed. In the meantime, we'll keep looking for her."

Clovis rubbed his forehead, "Dead or alive, she must be found!" Of course, he and Bartley knew that there was no 'dead' for her, but the others in the room did not.

 **-]|[-**

Tamaki – a redheaded Japanese man – appeared on Oghi's monitor, "These Knightmares have all had their IFFs disabled! What if this is just a trap?!"

Kallen snorted, " **Why would they bother?** " She taunted the other redhead, " **Use that head of yours Tamaki. We had a single Glasgow that was barely holding up even before this started. Why the hell would they waste the resources to give us all of these Sutherlands.** "

" **Kallen is right Tamaki. They hold all of the cards in this war.** " Oghi told him before Tamaki could build up a head of steam, " **So they have no need to trap us. Now, all of you must get to your assigned-** "

Lelouch's voice came through the radio, "P1, are you ready to move? Those machines should function like the ones you're used to."

"Who are you? Can't you at least tell us your name?" Oghi asked him. He was really curious about this voice, as were his comrades.

Lelouch snorted derisively, "I acquired your signal fairly easily. They're not exactly well encrypted, if at all. What's stopping the enemy from doing the same? I won't be giving them information that could lead them to me, if someone happens to be listening in. That you all weren't already using code names doesn't exactly speak highly of you." Every single person in the Kōzuki cell blushed in embarrassment. Of course, Lelouch left unsaid that the reason he reached them so easily was that he had _acquired_ one of their radios from his time in their transport truck. Behind him, C.C. had to stifle a giggle.

"Ah…roger." Oghi was rubbing the back of his head in mortification.

"But if you must call me something, it can be K1. Now, if Q1 is on schedule, enemy Sutherlands – two of them – will reach you in 23 seconds. Shoot them through the wall!"

Tamaki grumbled, "This guy is out of his damn mind!"

"Double-check you weapons!" Oghi ordered.

"Oi! You can't be serious!" Tamaki yelled at him with an incredulous look on his face.

 **-]|[-**

As Kallen's Glasgow rolled to a stop, Clovis was being briefed in the G1, "Enemy spotted at point F 31!"

Clovis's bored look hadn't changed. He sighed, "A feint? How pedestrian. The monkeys are playing at being human." He said derisively, though his tone of voice didn't change in the slightest.

Bartley's commanding voice came as the giant screen at the head of the room changed into a map, "Tell Lazlo's squad to go straight in. Have Eugen and Valerie strike from the rear!"

 **-]|[-**

"3…2…1…FIRE!" Oghi roared, and pressed down on the trigger ball on his arm rests.

All around him, gigantic bullets flew from the muzzles of the Sutherlands' rifles. They screamed through the air and pierced straight through the broken wall separating them from their enemy. "What the?!" Eugen screamed in shock as his machine started trembling. His partner hadn't escaped either, and both of their machines were absolutely shredded into metal confetti. Neither of them were able to eject.

"That worked?!" Tamaki screamed in disbelief.

 **-]|[-**

"Sir Eugen and Sir Valerie were both lost." The tone sounding from the computer as LOST appeared over two of their units was almost deafening,

Clovis's eyes widened, "An ambush?"

 **-]|[-**

Lelouch chuckled lightly, spinning a black King chess piece he had found in his fingers, "An IFF is a double-edged sword, isn't it big brother?"

"They can follow orders, at least." C.C. commented, "Most resistance cells I've encountered in my life have been made up out of angry, bitter people who spend too much time getting drunk and not enough time fighting or preparing to fight. You've lucked out, if we don't count the loudmouth."

Lelouch frowned slightly at that information. He sighed, "Well, I guess I can't expect the same success if this happens elsewhere. I may end up recruiting these guys permanently if that's the case. I'll need a strong base." He shook himself, "But that's for another day. For now, I'll be happy with these guys. The conditions for our victory will be cleared if they can follow orders."

"And if they can't?" C.C. arched an eyebrow, not that he could see it.

He smirked lightly, "Then I'm not responsible for their failure. I have no interest in polishing a turd." She wrinkled her nose, "P1, P4, P7, move a hundred meter to the right and fire your slash harkens toward 3 o'clock!" He commanded sharply.

 **-]|[-**

"Do as he says, people!" Oghi ordered as he took off.

Tamaki growled, "How often can blind luck work?"

"Are you not moving yet, P5?" Lelouch reminded him. As he turned off the radio, he mumbled, "Bloody idiot."

Tamaki stiffened, "Stop calling me that!" He roared and his cockpit slid back into the Sutherland.

The sound of metal groaning and snapping filled the air as the dark-red Slash Harkens pounded and pierced the enemy Sutherlands, lifting them clean into the air and dismembering them.

 **-]|[-**

General Bartley had a good nervous sweat going. His skin had a shiny sheen covering it, as he saw the battle suddenly turn against them, "The enemy's moving towards G 28." One of the aides yelled.

He was clearly already panicking, and had Lelouch been there he would have wondered if the man had bought his commission, "Send Lazlo's squad – no, Glaube's squad after them!"

Clovis, for the first time, displayed interest. He was sitting forward on his throne and eyeing the proceedings with the lightest amount of concern. ' _It can't be possible._ ' He thought in shock, ' _Can these monkeys have gotten their hands on our equipment?_ '

Elsewhere, Kallen used her single Slash Harken to hoist herself onto a building. A lone Sutherland was standing there. It whirled around, its face opening and revealing a Factsphere – which pinged once as it took in new information. Unfortunately for it, the new information was Kallen's Glasgow's fist. The Knightmare crashed to the ground. Kallen whirled to a stop and fired her Slash Harken at the fallen machine, cutting it clean in half. The entire Sutherland exploded.

"Sir Glaube has ejected!" He hadn't, but they didn't know that.

"They must be intercepting our transmissions!" Bartley roared, spittle flying from his mouth, "Change the codes!"

"We already have!" The aid yelled in panic, "We've already changed them four times!"

"Well do it again!" Bartley blustered. Helplessly. Perhaps he _had_ bought his commission.

Clovis's eye twitched and he stood, "This failure is unacceptable!"

Bartley flinched, "Forgive me!" He began saying as he turned his head, but he was interrupted before he could go on.

"Hello, hello!" The overly-excited man who was currently taking up their screen-space was a skinny-looking man with glasses and lavender hair. This was the head of the Camelot Research Division, Lloyd Asplund.

"What do you want?" Bartley growled, "We're in the middle of an operation here!"

"Then…" Lloyd said happily, "I believe it's time to deploy A.S.E.E.C.'s special weapon, no?"

"This isn't the time for your antics Lloyd!" Clovis roared as he began walking forward.

 **-]|[-**

The hole punched into the Britannian AFV showcased just how _huge_ the bullets fired out of Knightmare rifles really were. It lifted the vehicle clean off its wheels before the entire vehicle detonated.

Lelouch moved a Rook forward on his chessboard, "War isn't a game you know. You can't equate it to chess." C.C. told him, slightly disappointed in him. perhaps he was just a child.

"Oh I know that well." Lelouch said, "But my brother and his forces have proven to be incompetent. If I was against Cornelia I wouldn't dream of wasting time and attention like this. I've yet to even be surprised. They're doing exactly what I predicted. Now, R2, fire anchor. B7, use UN ordnance. N group, you'll continue your advance." Each of his orders were punctuated by Britannian losses. R2's anchor took out a helicopter as he moved another piece. Another AFV was destroyed by B7 as he moved his Knight.

A quartet of damaged Sutherlands were backpedaling rapidly from gunfire as N group advanced, screaming in victory. "You damn Eleven monkeys!" They roared, before gunfire erupted from behind them. More stolen Sutherlands ripped them to shreds and they never even knew they had been surrounded.

 **-]|[-**

Instantly, four of their Knights found their defeat as more LOST symbols appeared, "We've lost Lazlo's squad!"

Clovis reached them, "Bring up Quincy's squad! Now!"

"But your Highness!" Bartley protested, "If we do that we'll break the encirclement!"

"Reinforce the breach with some of the units guarding me." Clovis ordered, "We know for certain is that enemy forces are here." He pointed to a certain spot on the map.

 **-]|[-**

Lelouch was eyeing the map, utterly relaxed for the moment. He was _bored_ if he was completely honest with himself. He hadn't expected things to be so easy. He hadn't even had the _paint_ of one of his units scratched. "They have five options." He said almost lazily, "I wonder which they'll pick."

He watched as units began to move and he actually dropped his King. His eye twitched, and then he facepalmed. C.C. raised an eyebrow behind him, "Something wrong?" She said slyly.

"Correction." Lelouch said dryly from behind his hand, voice slightly muffled, "There were six options. I just hadn't thought they could possibly be _stupid_ enough to use the last one." He dragged his hand down his face, "I can't even claim that this was a valuable learning experience anymore. Any intel I gain here on the might of the Britannian Army is probably useless with how utterly brain dead the enemy Commander is. I'd say that a monkey would do better, but that would be an insult to the monkey." He watched as their area was _swarmed_ with units coming in a closing ring of death towards his units. C.C. saw what he saw and began to laugh openly.

 **-]|[-**

Jeremiah had a dull look on his face as he watched several units – Knightmares and land vehicles both – raced past him further into the ghetto. He had been hiking back to the G1 after being forced to use his emergency eject, "What idiot ordered them to break the formation?" It was probably a good thing that he would not find out the answer to that question, because he might just have keeled over in shock.

 **-]|[-**

"Q1, how accurate is your map of the area?" Lelouch's voice came through Kallen's radio.

"It's an old map. Sorry K1. It has no current landmarks."

"It'll do." Lelouch had a dark grin on his face, and Kallen was pretty sure she could _hear_ it. Slowly, a dark grin of her own split her face as Lelouch filled her in.

 **-]|[-**

"Excellent!" Clovis had a relaxed grin on his face, "Now send in Bertz and the others in as well. Surround them and concentrate our forces there! The enemy's main force is where the red dot is! Destroy them." They watched as the mass of friendly forces converged on the enemy, only for the dot to vanish. The wave of fear that rose in the room was almost a palpable thing, "What?!" Clovis began to tremble, "They're not there? HOW ARE THEY NOT THERE?!"

 **-]|[-**

A line of Sutherlands and a single Glasgow were whirring gently through the dark tunnel. Kallen turned her machine around and fired her Slash Harken at the ceiling. It began to crumble as her anchor retracted and then they all slammed on the gas and hightailed it out of there. The ceiling behind them began to crumble and an ever expanding sinkhole opened up as they fled. Dozens of land vehicles and Knightmares were swallowed as if a beast had awoken in the earth and devoured them.

 **-]|[-**

Lelouch sighed, "I can't even join in the celebration. This was just _sad_. I suppose my brother must have taken command himself. This idiocy was just like him. Last time we played chess I beat him in four moves and he flipped the table."

C.C. blinked, "Please tell me you've never Fool's Checked him."

Lelouch froze for a second as long-forgotten memories arose, "Pfff," and this time he started _cackling_.

 **-]|[-**

Clovis's transport was filled with the high-pitched tone of hundreds of machines turning into LOST symbols. Clovis took a few shaky steps back. ' _This…what is… Who in God's name am I up against? What if he's even better than Tōdō?_ ' The panic which had been striking Bartley was now in full effect inside Clovis, "Lloyd!"

"Ah? Yes, Your Highness?" Lloyd said.

"Can it win? CAN YOUR TOY BEAT THEM?!" Clovis was coming very close to spewing spit himself.

"Your Highness," Lloyd smile wasn't any different, but to Clovis it had become even more insufferably smug, "Please call it the Lancelot."

 **-]|[-**

Kallen and the rest of her resistance cell had massive smiles on their faces, and the radios were filled with the sound of their cheering. "We…we did it…!" She let out a shaky breath. Japan had not won a single victory against Britannia since Tōdō's Miracle victory years prior. And now they of all people had succeeded? There was a damn good reason for their celebrating, though it was marred by all the unnecessary death of the day.

Only apparently one amongst them disagreed. Lelouch's voice snapped through the radio, "That is enough celebration!" He ordered calmly.

Oghi gasped, "But…but we won!"

"Not yet." Lelouch said grimly. Kallen's blood ran cold. There was more coming? "Listen carefully. Before I took command of the battle, I came across a vital piece of information." The entire Kōzuki cell waited with bated breath, "There were rumors amongst the soldiers that Britannia's R&D has managed to create a prototype of a Generation Seven Knightmare Frame." Kallen choked.

"What's the big deal?" Tamaki sneered, "What's one unit going to do?" Kallen honestly wanted to get out of her Glasgow and strangle the other redhead.

"The big deal…" Lelouch ground his teeth momentarily, "Is that you've forgotten your damn history. The Glasgow Q1 is piloting is a Fourth Generation machine, and if not for her skill as a pilot it would have been reduced to scrap by just one Fifth Generation such as the Sutherland." Kallen now had a rosy blush on her cheeks, "The Sutherland renders the Glasgow completely obsolete, and it is a mass-produced, cookie-cutter unit only one generation ahead of it. What is a _custom prototype_ machine _three_ generations ahead of it going to do?" Tamaki had _curdled._

"What are your orders, K1?" Kallen cut across and silenced all of the worried chatter.

"With how utterly we destroyed their forces just now, it is likely that Clovis will launch this new model as a last resort, whether it is fully operational or otherwise." Lelouch said calmly, "This is now primarily an information gathering mission. I want _all_ of you to turn on your cameras and feed it to this unit. We _must_ learn what our enemy will be capable of. If it is possible to destroy or capture it, we will do so. If not, then we shall take our victory as is." Lelouch gave them the code for his machine, and almost immediately he started receiving feeds from his forces. His left monitor started displaying video, and he used his number pad to flick through the different streams he was receiving, "Excellent." He smirked confidently, "If _any_ of you see something strange, immediately yell out your code name so I can switch to your feed. Now, be cautious and pick off any stragglers! Rescue civilians from these animals. Additionally, Q1, I want all of the video your machine has recorded saved and downloaded somewhere safe. Britannia _will not_ hide the atrocities it has committed here! Any of you who have taken additional video, make sure you save it as well!"

"Yes sir!" The feral grin tearing at Kallen's lips – amongst others – was positively bloodthirsty.

 **-]|[-**

"Did you read the manual?" The woman asking the question over the radio was one Cecile Croomy, the second in command of the Lancelot project. She had bright, ice-blue eyes and indigo hair falling around to her neck. She wore and orange and black uniform with a long skirt and black, knee-high boots. She looked pretty concerned for the subject of her questioning. Who wouldn't be? She had seen the slightly-red bandages he was wearing earlier in the day. The poor boy had been shot and now he was about to pilot a Knightmare that most others hadn't even been able to _move_!

"Pretty much." The boy in question was fairly tall. He had messy brown hair and green eyes, with a slim but sturdy build. He was just zipping up his new pilot suit, which was white with black stripes and golden embroidery. He had a white and red device on his face that acted as a phone.

"Well done. You scored at the top of the class in the simulator." Cecile commented, though to be honest that was more than just an understatement. Suzaku's scores were so high that his name wasn't even in the same conversation as all of the others.

"About what you said before." He walked out of the trailer he was in and towards the much bigger trailer that held the machine he was to pilot.

"Ah…It's possible for sure, but not very likely. The possibility is close to zero, actually."

"But that means there's still a chance, right?" Suzaku kept his optimism high.

"Yes, I'm that's true. Even so, you're not to do anything reckless. The new system is not outfitted with an ejection mechanism."

"Got it. I understand, Miss Cecile." He stopped in front of the trailer, where he could just make out the white and golden legs of his machine. The tarp covering it blew off and floated away. Suzaku stopped to admire the Lancelot. It was a streamlined white frame with shining gold highlights and a single red gem at the center of its chest. It was every bit the shining Knight that one would have expected for a Frame called the Lancelot. "So, this is it huh?"

"That's right." Cecile smiled lightly, "The advanced weapon developed by us in the Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps; Z-01 Lancelot! The world's first seventh generation Knightmare Frame." She and her immediate superior Lloyd were behind the Lancelot in their trailer.

"Well, if you're ready, Suzaku, then we shall proceed with the initial startup." Lloyd's cheerful, if smug voice came in on the line.

Cecile stared hard at her console, "I'll start from phase 20. Equipping energy filler!" A mechanical arm whirred to life and inserted into the machine.

Another voice sprang up, from a technician performing diagnostics, "Confirm pre-start. Energy filler now at full output. 30 seconds to reach critical voltage. Core Luminous, shifting phase. Confirming entry of Devicer into Z-01. Individual ID registration confirmed. Confirm man-machine interface. Engage. Yggdrasil Resonance confirmed. Rejection Response: weak. Devicer's Stress Response: weak. All readings: nominal..."

"All going according to the data, so far." Lloyd said calmly as the rest of the medical trucks got the hell out of the Lancelot's way.

One of the Lancelot's hands did a full 360 spin before the platforms it was standing on separated and spread its legs, with the machine's right arm coming out in front of it and resting on one of the metal parts. It looked like it was ready to pounce as wires detached and its Landspinners – which had been in a retracted position, landed on the platforms behind it. "Lancelot… LAUNCH!"

Suzaku gripped his controls tightly, "Lancelot… ME Boost!" Inside the machine, a floating pink cube of Sakuradite began to spin rapidly and pulse with light. Its Landspinners screeched underneath it and threw up smoke, before the Lancelot shot out like a rocket.

The force blew Lloyd off his feet and he began to cackle, "HAHAHAHA! Full speed right out of the gate huh?!" He had the biggest grin on his face as Cecile lay beside him with her head covered.

"This is way better than the manual said!" Suzaku was elated, "With this I…grk" He grabbed his side with one of his arms as he grimaced in pain. He powered through the pain with a look of extreme determination on his face, "I'll stop them. I'll stop them all! I'll save you, Lelouch!"

 **-]|[-**

Lelouch was calmly flipping through the channels when he heard the idiot's voice, "Huh, what's that?" Lelouch immediately switched to Tamaki's feed and his eyes shot open.

"It's fast!" He exclaimed, just barely able to keep up with its movements. If it wasn't for his constant training with Sayoko – his maid/bodyguard – he wouldn't have been able to. As it was, he did better than Tamaki's targeter, which failed on every level to keep up with the brilliantly shining white-and-gold machine.

"Extremely agile too." C.C. commented from behind him. "So, what will you do now, boya?"

Lelouch switched to another one of his Sutherlands and watched as it was blown backwards off its feet. The feed disconnected as the pilot ejected. He continued watching, as the machine revealed two Slash Harkens on its wrists which it was using as blades, as well as two on its hips. "It only appears to have those four Slash Harkens. I don't see any other offensive weapons. That would make it a close-to-medium range machine. I can work with that." He then watched in dumbfounded shock as the damn thing fired its wrist harkens into the ground and propelled itself into the air. It whipped the weapons about and sliced the heads off of two more Sutherlands and then god damn somersaulted and _kicked_ another into oblivion. "That whole thing is a weapon!" He exclaimed in disbelief.

"It has deflector shields too?" Even C.C. couldn't contain her gasp of shock as the machine started deflecting gunfire.

Lelouch analyzed the shield closely, "It doesn't cover its entire body!" He shouted in elation, "All units! Aim for the legs when you encounter it!" That strategy had marginally more effect, but the white knight merely dodged the fire. "Its speed is absurd. What the hell did they put into that frame?" Lelouch mused with a bead of sweat running down his face, "I need to find some way to get a hold of it, or at least a part of it."

"That shield can't be easy to maintain. It must drain its energy filler very quickly." C.C. commented seriously.

Lelouch's eyes widened and a smirk split his face, "Oh, I could kiss you right now." He shouted into his radio, "Lead it to this location!" Immediately, all of his remaining Sutherlands started moving to a location directly in front of the tall building he was hiding in, "Pull out Chaos Mines! Throw them into the air in front of it so that the shrapnel falls on it from an upward angle! Make sure it's not directly facing this building! Hit it from both sides! Make sure the shields aren't facing this building!" He pinged his location on the map. With that, he urged his Sutherland to move. He dropped his standard issue assault rifle and picked up a _very_ different rifle from the ones his forces were using. It was almost thrice as long as a standard rifle and had a very long barrel. He grinned, glad that he had taken supplies from the train before sending it on the rest of its journey. He set up his sniper rifle and calmed himself, waiting for a good shot. His monitors were throwing data at him from the scope at a rapid rate as he calculated trajectories in his head.

Down on the ground, the Lancelot had just blown through an alley by _wall-running_ and destroyed another of his machines. But now it was in his sights and the last two appeared out of the smoke, Chaos Mines in hand. They threw them, and Suzaku shouted, " **Chaos Mines?! ARE YOU ALL INSANE?!"** His Blaze Luminous shined into existence to either side of the Lancelot. Not even a second later, the glowing green shields started getting _pelted_ with a molten shower of shrapnel. They all deflected off his shields and pelted the surroundings. Buildings around it were chewed through to the point they resembled Swiss cheese, as did the pavement. "Damn it!" Suzaku cursed, "It's eating through my energy!"

"Suzaku!" He head Cecile's voice in his ear, "What's happening? Your power is draining way too fast!"

Suzaku groaned, "These bastards threw Chaos Mines!" He spat furiously, "I'm using he Blaze Luminous to block them!"

"That's understandable. You'll have to finish things quickly or come back for another filler!" Cecile said, "One Mine you could have handled, but two is too much. You've drained hours of charge in seconds."

Lelouch took a deep breath and lined up the shot. It was hard to make out where exactly to shoot. The shrapnel was making a mess and visibility was low. He could just barely make out the edges of the shields, which were pretty close to the machine and therefore covering most of it. Finally, he squeezed the trigger. The cockpit shook lightly as the dull roar of his gun firing filled their ears.

The Chaos Mines finally finished discharging and fell to the floor. The Blaze Luminous shields thrummed with power to either side of the Lancelot, but that left parts of it exposed. It hadn't even had time to lower its arms and retract the shields before Suzaku's bad day got worse. Lelouch's massive bullet – more of a howitzer shell than a bullet really – pierced straight through the Lancelot's right knee and blew the entire lower leg right off of the main body.

 **-]|[-**

"MY LANCELOT!" Lloyd screamed, almost flinging himself off the command trailer. He wanted to run and console his baby himself, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY LANCELOT?! SUZAKU!"

Cecile and three others had to restrain him as he practically started frothing.

Suzaku's panicked, furious voice came through the speakers, "It was a trap!" He roared, "The entire situation was a trap! The enemy commander must be a genius! They created a situation where I'd be unable to move and would have both my Blaze Luminous occupied!"

 **-]|[-**

The Lancelot started falling with the groaning of metal. The two remaining Sutherlands cheered and one of them surged forward to finish the job. Oghi was closing in on it when the damn machine sprang to life again. It fired its right wrist Slash Harken at the floor which jerked it into the air, before its hip mounted harken speared through Oghi's machine and destroyed it. The man was cursing as he ejected.

Lelouch's mouth was open. C.C. wasn't too much better behind him. "It did that with one leg?" he whispered in awe. He clenched his fists with a supremely irritated smile on his face, "Shit… and I thought we were farther ahead. That damn monster outclasses every single prototype we've been able to come up with so far." He took another shot with a vindictive amount of pleasure, which blew off its left arm just as it landed. Even with the insane advantage he was giving them, the last remaining Sutherland was unable to finish the job. But the beast had definitely been crippled now. It was extremely off balance and nowhere near as mobile. Only the quality of its gyroscopes and the fact that Lloyd had planned for every eventuality kept it on its feet. But now the pilot had cottoned on and had vanished into the buildings. He no longer had a shot so they wouldn't be able to take it out.

The last Sutherland took off after it like a moron, and seconds later he was rewarded with a SIGNAL LOST on his console. He cursed, "Q1! This battle is lost. That damn machine is too good even as injured as it is, and its pilot is just as good. You may end up facing it in the future so I want you to get a feel for it. Engage it as best you can but immediately eject if things get hairy. _Do not_ get yourself injured, understood?"

"Yes sir!" Kallen said, "What will you be doing?"

Lelouch smirked as he aimed his cockpit in a certain direction, "I have a mission of my own. Stay safe." And with that, he shut off his radio entirely, "Hold on tight C.C. This is going to be rough." The girl squeezed him from behind as he jerked his armrests up. The rocket motors fired and the cockpit ejected off towards the G1.

 **-]|[-**

Kallen walked into their base with Oghi. Several people there were crying or yelling at her fellow resistance members, "It's your fault. This is what happens when you oppose the Britannians!" A man yelled at Tamaki.

"Why you gutless coward!" The redhead grit his teeth.

"How many people were killed because of this!?" A tearful woman screamed at him, "My husband and son are dead because of you! You brought those murderous bastards here with your idiocy!"

"Shut up! Do you know how many of us were killed or captured? Do ya? Stop crying!" He yelled back. He had less sensitivity than a pea.

Kallen's head dipped as tears prickled in her eyes, knowing that they were indeed at fault. They had no idea the sheer lengths Clovis would go to, all in the name of recovering the gas. She had been fully prepared to die for her cause, but she never wanted this. She never wanted her unarmed, peaceful people to get gunned down like they were worthless.

Oghi's voice caught her attention again, "-doesn't answer when I call so maybe he died."

"K1 you mean? He told me he had a mission of his own before his radio went silent." Kallen told him.

"Kami damn it!" Tamaki spat, "I knew better than to trust a damn voice." Kallen gasped as her ears caught the sound of treads behind her. She whirled around as the reinforced doors blew out. "Instead of following somebody we don't even know, we should've use the poison gas!" Tamaki cried out as smoke and grit filled their base.

A tank and a company of soldiers walked in, "So this is where you Eleven monkeys scurried off to. Prepare to fire!"

Kallen closed her eyes, "Onii-chan!" She braced herself for death…only it never came.

Clovis La Britannia's voice rumbled through the entire ghetto, off of every loudspeaker and every Britannian radio, "Attention all forces. Cease fire at once!" The Prince's voice was loud and clear, "I, Clovis, third prince of Britannia and Royal Viceroy of Area Eleven, hereby command you; all forces are ordered to cease fire at once! You shall cease destruction of any buildings or property! All casualties, whether Britannian or Eleven, shall be treated equally and without prejudice! In the name of Clovis la Britannia, you are here by ordered, cease fire at once!  
I shall allow no further fighting!"

"We…we're saved?" They all goggled as the baffled soldiers just kept staring at each other in shock.

 **-]|[-**

"I shall allow no further fighting!" Clovis turned the intercom off and then the lights went off, "There, are you satisfied?" He put on a show of strength, but Clovis was _terrified_ right now. A soldier had walked into the room and ordered the rest of the men inside to get out. And the men had done so, like zombies, ignoring his calls. Then he'd been held at gunpoint. Still, he was a Prince. If nothing else, he was a valuable hostage. He wouldn't be killed. He could still get out of this.

"Yes. Excellent job, your Highness." The disguised Lelouch said, "Not even a quiver in your voice despite the gun pointed at your heart." Clovis's heart predictably beat a little faster.

"And what shall we do now? Sing a few lively ballads, or perhaps a nice game of chess?" Clovis sneered, trying to keep his princely cool.

"My, doesn't that bring back memories." Clovis blinked in surprise, "Don't remember? We used to play chess as boys. Of course, you always lost. You're the only opponent I ever faced who allowed themselves to get Fool's Checked." Clovis's eyes widened and he jerked forward in his chair, "At the Aries Villa, if you recall."

"L…Lelouch?" Clovis stood up after letting out a choking sound.

Lelouch walked forward, "It's been a long time, big brother." Lelouch mockingly bowed, as a knight would to a royal. His left knee touched the ground and his left arm was held over his chest, "The eldest son of the late consort Marianne and seventeenth in line to the imperial throne, Lelouch vi Britannia, at your service."

"Lelouch! But how?! I-I thought you were-"

"Dead?" Lelouch's smirk widened, "I'm afraid that rumors of my demise were grossly exaggerated." He stood, "You were wrong, and I have returned, your Highness. And I've come back to change everything."

Clovis was trembling lightly, "I'm overjoyed, Lelouch! They said you died when Japan was brought into the fold. What a blessing to have you back! We should depart for the homeland immediately!"

Lelouch tutted, "Oh big brother, have you forgotten?" Clovis stiffened, "I have no interest in being a diplomatic tool once more. Last time didn't exactly end well, did it? And perhaps you've forgotten the reason for it." Clovis shook his head, "That's right. Mother was killed, right in front of me. She was killed on top of Nunnally. Mother held the title of Knight of Honor but was a commoner by birth. No doubt the other imperial consorts held her in contempt. Even though you made it look like the work of terrorists, I'm no fool."

Clovis shook his head rapidly, "It wasn't me Lelouch! I swear it wasn't!" His voice started to stammer as he lost his self-assurance, "I-I-I was barely older than you were! I never would have done it! I never could have done it!"

Lelouch smiled lightly, "Oh, I doubt you did. But just to be sure… Answer my questions!" His eye flashed as his Geass activated and Clovis's expression went calm and serene. "Now…tell me…who killed my mother?"

"I do not know." Clovis told him.

Lelouch sighed, not having expected anything different, "Do you have any information about the murder?"

"I do not."

"Who would know and why?" Lelouch's jaw was beginning to clench.

"I do not believe it was either of them, but second prince Schneizel and second princess Cornelia may know more. Cornelia idolized your mother and searched tirelessly for an answer after her death. Schneizel was the one ordered by the Emperor to remove her body."

Lelouch's eyes widened. That was some valuable information. With his questioning regarding his mother's murder finished, he turned to other questions. "How were you able to so readily justify the extermination of this ghetto? Do you feel any remorse?"

Clovis answered, "I thought they deserved death. You and Nunnally were supposed to have died in this area to these sub-human monkeys. Of course not. They were only Elevens."

Lelouch almost forgot his promise to C.C. and killed him on the spot, "And what of the green-haired girl. Do you feel any remorse for what you did to her?"

"I do not. Britannia would be unstoppable if we could harness her powers. It wasn't like she could die from any of it." Clovis answered again, and rage filled Lelouch.

"But she could feel pain you son of a bitch." Lelouch snarled. Clovis did not answer. It was not a question. "You will download all hidden data you can access onto this drive. Afterwards, you will delete the log of your access. You will also give me any and all passwords and data for any hidden accounts where you have personal money that cannot be linked back to you. You will then await further orders." Clovis took the drive from him and inserted it directly into his chair, which was linked to everything in the G1. A screen came out from behind the throne. Being a royal had its perks. A few minutes later, Lelouch had the drive in hand. "Does this hold any information regarding the experiments on the green-haired girl."

"Everything is there." Clovis replied.

"What of information on that white and gold Knightmare?"

"Few specifics, as it is the work of Camelot and they are largely autonomous. It only contains specs they bothered to send to me. Some of it may be incomplete or out of date." Clovis replied, and Lelouch stopped to think.

He couldn't think of much else, so he did as C.C. had ordered him to, "Delete all of the recordings there are of today's events and stop all further recordings. You will forget ever seeing me. We did not talk, nor did you ever see my face. You will remember nothing from the point that you finished ordering the ceasefire. You will awaken from this Geass in thirty seconds." C.C. walked into view as he turned, "And why did I have to do that?"

"I will tell you later." Her eyes were burning with hatred, having heard every word the Prince had spoken. She put the helmet on her head and took Lelouch's place.

Clovis slumped over slightly and groaned, before focusing in on the soldier holding a gun towards him, "There, are you satisfied?" He put on a show of strength, but Clovis was _terrified_ right now. A soldier had walked into the room and ordered the rest of the men inside out. And the men had done so, like zombies, ignoring his calls. Then he'd been held at gunpoint. Still, he was a Prince. If nothing else, he was a valuable hostage. He wouldn't be killed. He could still get out of this.

C.C. walked forward, dropping the gun on the floor, "Not quite." Her tone was sinister, and Clovis's eyes bugged out as he recognized her voice. She ripped the helmet off of her head and dropped it to the floor,

"No!" Clovis breathed out in horror. He squirmed back, trying to escape. But he only met the back of his throne.

C.C. grabbed his head in an unbreakable grip, and held his jaw shut. Clovis feebly tried to get away – grabbing at her wrists and trying to kick out – but he may as well not have tried at all for all the good it did, "For all you did to me… _burn_." The mark on her forehead began to shine with an angry red light. And then Clovis was far away. His mind was experiencing every excruciating second of agony he had put C.C. through under Code R first hand. Now _he_ was the one getting covered in bullet ants. Every bit of torment they put her through was turned on to him. She held him for over five minutes as he thrashed and tried to scream, before he fell silent. She stepped back, sweating heavily.

Clovis slumped over drooling insensately, his mind utterly shattered. He was no more than a vegetable. C.C. tiredly leaned down and picked up the gun, "Enjoy hell you son of a bitch." She pulled the trigger.

Lelouch was waiting there for her, his face expressionless. That had been…harder to watch than he had expected. "W-what did you do to him?"

C.C. was swaying slightly, "I turned the torment he inflicted on me, onto him." She started to fall, and Lelouch caught her, "Sorry." She mumbled into his shoulder, "I'm a little tired."

Lelouch lifted her up in a bridal carry, "I've had enough of this place for the day. Let's get out of here."

 **-]|[-**

Milly was laying down on Lelouch's bed. The day was long gone and night had long-since fallen. Milly hadn't left her beau's room all day. She was worrying herself sick over him. It had been hours since his call. It was well into the AM now, and there was still no sign of him. She hadn't dared call him, in case he was trying to hide. She had tossed and turned for hours, almost gnawing on her fingers as she watched the news. Now the TV was off and she was working her up into a panic, "Please be safe Lulu…" She whispered, "Please don't die…"

"I promised I wouldn't, didn't I?"

She gasped and sprang up. He was standing there. He was slightly dirty and scuffed up, but he was standing there. A small smile was on his face. A tear slipped down her eye as she leapt at him from the bed. He caught her easily as her legs wrapped around his waist. Her arms were around his neck and she pulled him in, squeezing him as if he would vanish if she didn't. Their lips connected for a hungry, needy kiss. "You're safe…" She whispered happily. He kissed her again and they dropped onto his bed, her fingers already working at the buttons and zippers on his clothes.

"My, my, you didn't tell me I'd be getting a free show, boya." Milly froze and stopped kissing her man to regard the newcomer. A green-haired girl wearing a sort of prisoner's outfit was sitting on his table, swinging her legs back and forth gently. She had a coy smirk on her face.

 **-]|[-**

 **And done! Hope you all enjoyed this opening. There were a few small diversions here, though other, much larger ones were implied and outright confirmed. Next chapter is where the diversions** _ **really**_ **start coming in hot, and I'd say that the canon timeline will be derailed sooner rather than later. I already have a lot planned, and I can pretty much guarantee that R2 will be pretty unrecognizable. Next chapter will also have some of the explanations for why Lelouch's personality is different.**

 **His retractable blade is basically the same on that Jeremiah has in R2, just with a different design. More details on it later.**

 **Now, this is really important!**

 **I need your ideas on Geass for other important characters! I need ideas for other important characters such as Cornelia and Euphemia, Shirley, Rivalz, Suzaku, etc. I'm not** _ **promising**_ **that they'll get Geass here – I can actually guarantee that at least one person on that list isn't – but I need ideas just in case.**

 **Remember, Geass is about granting wishes, and has to do with your desires and personality. As I stated in-story; that is why giving a child a Geass is so dangerous. I want things that would** _ **fit**_ **their users, which is why I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with ideas for some of the characters.**

 **To those celebrating, Merry Christmas! To the others, Happy Holidays!**

 **Vortex out!**


	2. Turn 02 – Witch! Witch Damn it!

**Hey everyone! Glad to see so many people liking/being-optimistic about the fic. Few things to go over.**

 **I still don't have a good lock for Shirley's Geass, should she get one. It's just so difficult to think of one for her. She's a normal fucking teenager whose biggest overarching desire is to be with Lelouch. The fuck do I do with that? That's not good Geass material. As for Rivalz… some good ideas dealing with mechanical stuff, but I think the implementation might end up being pretty weird if I go with some of them. Geass are always mental in some way in CG canon. I still have another few chapters to go before they're slated to get their Geass so still plenty of time for ideas to filter through, thankfully.**

 **Now, some of you asked about whether I would be sticking to strictly canon R1 and R2 or if I would be dipping into the expanded material. My answer to that is that I will likely be using material from SOME of the expanded verse, but not all. I'm currently watching Akito and afterwards I'm planning on reading Oz. It might come down to me using concepts but not characters. I'm going to be doing a bit of light mixing – particularly about C.C. at this point. I like the idea of her around for the Hundred Years' War.**

 **This is somewhat important, and I feel it's kind of silly that I have to say this. This is a harem fic, alright? I've said that going in and it won't change. I already know who is going to be in it and who the 'maybe' candidates are, and it is NOT a gigantic harem. I've been pretty outspoken about my dislike for massive over-bloated harems. So it just kinda boggles the mind to receive a list of suggestions that seems like it encompasses literally the** _ **entire named female cast**_ **– important or otherwise – give or take a couple. I think the only name on there I can think of off the top of my head that I don't see is Nina. This is NOT a "Lelouch tries to out-harem his father" fic. So if you're going to be giving suggestions for members of the harem, you can probably save yourself some time and not bother. Unless I get an** _ **extremely**_ **good argument for including/excluding someone, my list isn't likely to change. And especially don't send me a list, lol.**

 **Now, while I am going to be skipping a wee bit of strictly-canon content – as you could probably tell from some missing Suzaku scenes last chapter – I can't skip out on** _ **all**_ **of it. It's as annoying to go through on my end as I'm sure it is to read, but if I didn't it would mean characters like Nunnally would get no screen time whatsoever. While some of you may be fine with it, I can't rightly just do that when she's so important to the main character.**

 **-]|[-**

 **Turn 02 – Witch! Witch Damn it!**

 **-]|[-**

Milly blinked slowly from underneath Lelouch, "Something you want to tell me, Lulu?"

Lelouch groaned and sat up, "This my dear, is C.C. And she was _supposed_ to give me a few minutes alone with you."

C.C.'s coy look hadn't changed, though it became slightly more playful and amused. "What fun would that be?"

Milly casually got up from under Lelouch and strode over to C.C, "Hmm." She mused, and grabbed C.C.'s chin and tilted her head to the side. C.C. momentarily had looked like a deer in headlights under the touch. Milly dropped her chin and gave her chest a squeeze, "I approve!" She turned a thumbs-up to Lelouch, who slapped his palm to his face.

"I knew that was going to happen. Why did I let you get up?" He mumbled.

C.C. still looked a little shell-shocked at just how bold the girl was, but was recovering.

Milly giggled, before a serious look came over her, "Alright Lelouch." Said boy winced. She rarely used his first name in private unless he asked her to, "I think I've been patient enough." Her tone turned to a hiss, "What. The hell. Happened?"

Lelouch told her to sit, and she straddled his chair in a very unladylike manner. C.C. was to her left and Lelouch had the bed claimed. "Alright, I guess I'll start from the beginning. Rivalz and I had gone gambling as you know. Another tepid noble opponent. I do so love them."

"How much?" Milly's eyes lit up.

"Twelve Million." Lelouch smirked. C.C. choked lightly. How the hell did he manage to get it that high? Even Milly was slightly wide-eyed. He grinned, "Every person there thought it was an unwinnable game for our side. So, I got the noble to raise the stakes. He decided he wanted even more when I used what he saw as a poor opening move, and so we raised the stakes again." He sighed, "That was where things went wrong." He grinned playfully at C.C., "Or right, depending on the point of view. We were riding home when a huge transport truck almost ran us over. They were speeding by about thirty miles per hour, and had to divert off a ramp that they shouldn't have. The truck crashed and – seeing our lovely country-men doing absolutely nothing of value – I ran down to see if I could help them at all. The only entrance I could see that was still feasible to go through was from the top, so I climbed the ladder. As I got to the top, the truck backed out and I fell in. Only it wasn't a legal truck. The drivers were part of a resistance cell who had stolen a large container of something they had been told was poison gas."

Milly was frowning lightly, and it deepened at that, "What exactly were they planning on doing with something like that? What possible use could they have had other than mass-murder?"

C.C. cut in, "Ransom, perhaps. A weapon for the JLF in return for more funding is also likely. Or they could have been sadistic bastards and used it." She shrugged, "Any are equally possible without knowing them personally."

"Correct." Lelouch nodded at C.C., "I believe I caught some chatter alluding to some of their members not following the plan and alerting Britannia. It all could have gone without a hitch too, had it not been for that mistake." He leaned back on his elbows, "Except of course, for the fact that there was never any poison gas at all. Which begs the question…"

Milly cut him off with a worried look, "What the hell could have been in that container that something _completely illegal_ like poison gas would have been a better cover story?"

"That's right." C.C. winced, "And the answer was me."

Milly's head snapped towards her in disbelief, "… _Huh_? I… think I've lost the plot here."

Lelouch continued with a severe look on his face, "Clovis had found her some years back and had captured her. They had been conducting inhuman experiments on her."

Milly looked sick, "What…? But…but why?" She looked stricken, " _Clovis_ did that? CLOVIS?"

"Yeah, Clovis. And he showed no remorse either." Lelouch sighed and juggled how to broach the subject. In the end, he decided there wasn't really anyway to edge into it, "At some point, we were cornered by Clovis's Royal Guard. I could have taken them out, but C.C. didn't know that. She jumped in front of me and took a bullet square in the forehead."

Milly stared at him, completely unimpressed. She got up and put her hand on his forehead, "Maybe there was some poison gas. You're delusional."

He swatted her hand lightly, "Cut it out. I'm serious here."

"So…what?" Milly asked dubiously, "She can regenerate?"

"Perhaps you should hook up one of those drives, boya. I think there may be a few pictures there to show her. You'll be looking for Code R." C.C. said, still swinging her legs. She was completely past Milly's groping.

Lelouch did so, and spent a few minutes trudging through the unorganized mess until he found Code R. His eyes widened before he enlarged one photo, "Look here, Milly."

Milly walked over and leaned down. Her eyes widened, "What? Is that…" It was a grainy picture of C.C., but it could only have been taken during the First World War. There was even a model of that very first tank with huge threads about to roll over a hill behind her.

"Me." C.C. said simply, "I do not regenerate." She stopped and smirked, "Well, I do but that was not why they were after me. I am immortal. As you can see from those images…I've been around for a very…very long time." Both of the teens in the room gasped as they saw another image – a well-done portrait of her in Portuguese Jesuit Armor. She was on an armored horse with her hair done up. Her shining armor had that strange red symbol on the breastplate. She perked up slightly, "Oh, now that one is old. It's been a _long_ time since I thought of those days."

"But you look so young!" Milly gasped. Lelouch wasn't looking much better.

C.C. shrugged, "I am also eternal. I am not really bound to the living realm. Even if you vaporized every single atom in me, I would reform." She sighed, "It is really a curse. I get to watch everyone I come to care for wither away. But to those looking in, it seems like a gift. I imagine Clovis thought he could harness it for himself. Make him and his men immortal and take the throne for himself." She snorted, "As if I would ever allow him to gain it." She mumbled to herself.

Milly looked between her and Lelouch, "Okay…let's just…move on. I don't think I'm going to believe it without seeing it. Pictures can be doctored."

"True enough." Lelouch said lazily, "I'm not exactly about to shoot her to prove a point."

"I wasn't asking you to!" She snapped, more than a little frazzled. She shook her head, "So what happened after she was _shot_."

Lelouch grinned lightly, "I kneeled down next to her to see if she was really dead. I was getting ready to turn those bastards into kabobs when she up and grabbed my neck and kissed me."

Milly deadpanned, before turning to her. She was still smirking unapologetically, "And was there a reason for this kiss?" She glared at C.C. lightly. She and Lelouch had played with some of the other girls before in private, but it had always been someone they both agreed on. She wasn't quite sure she liked a random girl she had never met laying one on her man, and vowed to get some payback.

"Well…" Lelouch drawled, "Either her lips are full of LSD and I've been hallucinating the entire day, or she granted me some sort of mystical power."

"It is called Geass." C.C. said helpfully, "As you well know, boya."

A tic mark appeared on Milly's head, "Lelouch." She barely opened her mouth, "I have spent this _entire. Damn. Day._ Being worried sick over you. I want you to stop _fucking_ around."

Lelouch looked over to C.C., "Will I be able to show her without using it?"

C.C. shrugged, "So long as you don't issue a command, she should be able to see it just fine."

"Show me _what_?!" Milly cried, and then froze when her boyfriend's left eye _changed_. That same sigil she had seen on C.C.'s breastplate and on her forehead appeared, and flapped its wings. There was a shower of red sparks behind it as well. She stopped, shook her head and then reached over with a finger.

"Oi!" He started leaning back as her finger came closer.

"Shut up and don't move." She ordered, before holding his eyelid open. She touched his eye with a feather-light touch and saw that there wasn't some sort of contact or electronic film on it. She shook her head again, "I… this is… _What?!_ "

He rubbed his eye in irritation. "Satisfied?" She nodded dumbly and rubbed her finger on his comforter, "Anyway, this power she gave me allows me to issue orders to other people, and no matter what they are, they'll follow them. I ordered the Royal Guards to kill themselves, and they did so with smiles on their faces." Milly looked like she was about to start having smoke come out of her ears, "That was why I was able to move our schedule up." He smirked, "I took all the information that the Captain had and then killed him. A knight showed up right after and I took her Sutherland. I used the information on it to arm the rebels and then used the Britannian IFFs against them to lead the battle."

Milly was swaying lightly, and Lelouch pulled her into his lap. He gently ran his fingers through her hair and feathered some kisses on her neck and cheek as she calmed down. "I…" She shook herself, "This is all so unbelievable."

"Tell me about it." Lelouch snorted, "I'm the one doing it and I'm not entirely convinced I'm not going to wake up at some point."

"You won't." C.C. said while she examined her nails.

"That's exactly what dream C.C. would say." Lelouch threw back at her, though he was smiling as he did so.

"Ohoho, already thinking of having dreams about me, are we?"

Milly latched on to some normalcy immediately, "Hmm, I think I might have some dreams of my own. I wonder if the carpet matches the drapes." She smirked coquettishly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" C.C. smirked back at her. After watching the blonde do nothing but be dumbfounded for the past few minutes, she had wondered if she would be having any fun at all.

"Moving on." Lelouch discretely sniffed back the small drop of blood that had leaked from his nose.

"This Geass…" Milly said hesitantly, "Will anyone else have it? Especially enemies." Lelouch's eyes widened. He couldn't believe such a crucial question had escaped him.

"Yes." C.C. said simply, "I have one other active contract, though I…" She looked away, "It is one I regret… Hopefully he'll never show up. I'm not sure what I'd do."

Lelouch saw the genuine look of regret in her eyes, so he pushed her to answer more, "Enemies?"

She sighed heavily. This would be it. If she answered this question, she would be completely committed to fighting against them. She licked her lips, and made her decision. She owed them nothing but her hatred now, "Yes. Many of your enemies from now on will have them… including your father."

Lelouch froze and Milly felt him stiffen. Rage started to bubble inside of him, "Did you give it to him? What does it do?"

"I did not. I am not the only immortal in the world. I personally know of one other. He was the one who gave your father his Geass; The Seal of Absolute Consciousness. His Geass allows him to freely manipulate the memories of other people, to the point where he can replace one person with another in an individual's mind and they would be none the wiser."

Milly and Lelouch both resembled goldfish. Suddenly, he snapped himself out of it, "Has he used it on me?" He hissed furiously.

C.C. stood and walked over to him, holding his head in her hands, "No." She said after a moment, "I do not feel it in your mind, and if he had I could have broken it." She walked back over and hopped back on the desk. "Of course, he is the least of your worries. He will be the 'final boss' as it were, in this little rebellion of yours. V.V. is not nearly as sparing with granting Geass as I am. He'll grant people Geass and turn them into experiments for his own twisted amusement. He is much younger and more impetuous than I am. I don't know exact numbers, but I know that he'll have at least one assassin with a Geass. The current Knight of One also has a Geass, though I don't truly know what it is."

Lelouch swallowed heavily. This…this wasn't good. Then Milly surprised him, "Will you make a contract with me?" She had pure determination on her face.

Even C.C. looked surprised, "Give you a Geass?" She blinked, before settling down, "Geass is not something I have ever spread widely myself."

"I swore to help Lelouch in this revolution." Milly declared, "I'm not much of a pilot even if I'm an okay fighter. I want to help him. I will take this contract if you offer it."

"Geass isn't all fun and games." She chided, "You know nothing of it. This is a power that will isolate you. You will live a different life if you gain it."

Lelouch's voice cracked like a whip, "Explain that." C.C. jumped slightly, "You've said that before. Why would it isolate us?"

C.C. pursed her lips, tempted to not tell him. It would just make it harder for him to fulfil her wish. But she could see that if she didn't answer, she would lose what little trust she had earned and that she might not be able to gain it back. She sighed despondently, half-wishing she had just accepted the request and given the girl her Geass, "Geass will strengthen through use. I'm not certain that yours will get any stronger because it is already absolute, but it may increase in range, amongst other things. However, overuse of Geass will eventually lead to Runaway Geass. It will become permanently active in your left eye. After that, it may develop even further and evolve to your other eye as well. With your line-of-sight type Geass, it isn't as much of a problem because you can block it with something as simple as a pair of sunglasses." She dipped her head, "But there are other types of Geass. Can you imagine being able to listen to _everyone's_ thoughts around you, all the time, forever?"

Both teens paled drastically. "I see… this whole thing…" Lelouch said, "You consider your gift a curse. Our gifts can become curses…"

She nodded, "It can drive a person to madness." They didn't know, but she spoke from experience. That poor boy, "Only one person that I know of has ever overcome runaway Geass and I'm sure you can guess who it was."

Lelouch clenched his fists, "Charles zi Britannia."

"That's right." C.C. confirmed lightly.

Lelouch clenched his fist harder, before relaxing. He thought for a moment, before he smirked, "So, that bastard overcame it then? That means it's possible. If that son of a bitch can do it then so will I." He vowed. C.C. smiled lightly. He would come to understand what a monumental task that would be.

Milly took a deep breath and stood, "I won't back out either. We don't even know what my Geass would be. If it isn't something useful then I won't have to use it too often. That will keep it from running away, right? If our enemies will have possibly dozens of assassins with Geass then we should have a few on our side too."

C.C. considered her for a few moments, still kicking her legs back and forth. Lelouch would be her main contractor, and he would definitely be using his gift. It wouldn't truly _matter_ if the girl never used it. And since they were already extremely close, there wouldn't be a huge risk of them killing each other. "Very well." She smiled finally, "If you are truly committed, then I can hardly refuse you."

Milly smiled, "Thank you, C.C. You won't regret it." Milly curtsied lightly and smiled at the verdette, "So, how do we do it?"

Here, C.C. gained that catlike smirk of glee. She sprang forward and claimed Milly's lips. It obviously wasn't necessary, but she had to get her back for her grope. She reached underneath Milly's skirt and grabbed her bum too. Behind them, Lelouch groaned and hunched over, blood pouring from his nose. Finally, she leaned back, "Pwuah!" She exclaimed, "Thank you for the meal."

"You're a succubus and I love it." Lelouch moaned, sticking some tissues up his nostrils.

"I prefer Witch." C.C. replied airily.

Milly twitched a few times, before she grinned, "I think I'm going to like her." She threw a lidded gaze towards C.C., "Was that actually necessary?"

"Nope." C.C. replied cheerfully. "Don't keep us in suspense Miss Ashford. Let's see your Geass." Milly activated it and looked at C.C., "It's not going to work on me." She rolled her eyes, "I am immune to Geass. I wouldn't be handing out weapons that could be used on me." She chided.

Milly blushed and turned around, before looking at Lelouch. She activated her Geass. Lelouch watched as her deep blue eyes deepened further and that red crane symbol appeared, but he didn't feel any different, "Huh…" She said, "I can see colors inside you." Each of them looked like a little flame, with the purple and the pink ones being the strongest currently.

"Colors?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. That was it? It couldn't be that useless right?

C.C. stood again and put a hand on Milly's back. With it activated, she piggy-backed on Milly and was able to see for herself, "Ohohoho!" The hairs on Lelouch's arms started to rise. That was a Queen Bitch laugh if he ever heard one. What the hell was Milly's power? "Why don't you try manipulating one of them? How about that purple one."

Milly bit her lip lightly, and then Lelouch hunched over and grabbed his crotch. He groaned and almost rolled off his bed, "The hell did you do to me, woman?" Milly's eyes went wide and a grin split her face as she fanned the flames higher. Lelouch rolled onto his side, "Cut it out Milly or you're not going to be able to walk for a month!" He yelled, and both ladies could quite clearly see an erection almost ripping through his pants.

"Promises, promises." Milly said silkily, but she did so. "So, purple must be Lust then?" She smiled, "Would that make pink Love?" The pink flame inside him pulsed without her doing it. Lelouch had broken out into a deep sweat as she leaned over and claimed his lips, "Love you too." She said softly. Behind them, C.C. had smiled lightly. It was more than a little refreshing to see actual love. "Would you mind, lulu? I need to see what each color is for sure. I don't want to guess and be wrong in a dangerous situation."

"Are you sure you can fix it?" He asked in concern.

"Yeah, in the back of my mind I feel like I can do something that would just reset any of my involvement. Either way, I can lower them too, not just fan them." Milly replied.

"How about that dark blue?" C.C. asked curiously.

Milly shrugged, and pulsed it very high. Lelouch's expression immediately changed. He had the most depressed look Milly had ever heard. Milly quickly just reset her power, and then further dimmed it. No way in hell was she having her Lulu be that depressed. "Perhaps." He chuckled lightly, "You might want to go a little lighter." Milly had the grace to look bashful.

About twenty minutes later they were finished and Lelouch was looking pretty exhausted from having to go through the extremes he did. "Well, I think that's a good enough handle for now, right?"

"Yeah…" Milly said, wincing slightly, "I have a tiny headache from all of that now."

"With how much you used it I expected a migraine." C.C. said from her spot at the desk, "That you have only a small headache proves there's an effect on you as well. Perhaps it'll be more pronounced if you try using it on multiple people. Or perhaps if you were trying to do multiple emotions at once."

"Fair to assume." Lelouch said as he pulled Milly into his lap, before his stomach started to growl. He blushed lightly, "Heh, I didn't even think of it. I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday."

"Pizza!" C.C. exclaimed, looking very excited.

Eyebrows raised, "At this time of night?" He asked. C.C.'s excited expression fell to the point Milly had to check herself. For a second she thought she had used her Geass on the girl somehow. He smirked, "We'll get pizza tomorrow C.C."

"Promise?" She gave him the doe eyes.

He chuckled, "Yeah, I promise." They were in the kitchen eating when he had a thought, "Milly, make sure nothing is planned for tonight from seven PM to two AM. After I spanked Clovis they launched an experimental Seventh Gen Knightmare." Milly gasped, "It gets worse. It utterly outclassed even our best prototype. It took out over fifty Sutherlands by itself without taking a hit. It took my all of my effort and excellent planning, but I managed to take out an arm and a leg, and even then it still managed to beat the last two Sutherlands."

Milly rubbed her forehead, "That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. That's _far_ beyond any of our prototypes."

Lelouch grinned evilly, "I didn't come home empty handed. I had the person I stole my Sutherland from get another Knightmare, and she's supposed to be hiding the pieces of it that I blew off with my sniper rifle. If she was successful then I'll be getting an untraceable call from her with the location. Once we get it _there_ we'll be able to start reverse engineering it."

Milly's grin was just as shit-eating as his.

 **-]|[-**

"Oh yay, sleep deprivation. My favorite." Lelouch was blindly groping for his nightstand to turn off the accursed alarm that was blaring in his ear.

He heard a groan from his left. C.C. glared balefully at him, "If you don't shut that thing off I'll make you pay." None of them could be bothered to figure out alternate arrangements last night after the yawning had started so they had all just bunked in his bed. It was rather large anyway.

And finally Milly just casually leaned her slender leg over the both of them and kicked out. Her foot connected with the alarm and ripped it right out of the wall and smashed it across the room. "Someone turn off the sun." She was now sprawled on top of him, leg over both of the other occupants.

"Perhaps next time we should save the interrogation for _after_ we sleep." Lelouch suggested tiredly as he rubbed his face.

"Shut. Up." C.C. rolled over and…promptly fell off his bed with a cute, "Eep!" Her voice was muffled as she spoke again, with her face smashed on the floor, "I will have my vengeance."

Milly smirked, "Hey, we offered a guest room."

"Don't you have school to get to?" C.C. snapped back and she crawled back into the bed.

"Fuck school." Lelouch groaned and he rolled into Milly's breasts and began snuggling. "One day won't kill us."

"We have to balance the budget." Milly winced as Lelouch turned his own glare at her.

"I thought that was done." He said accusingly. She winced again before turning on the crocodile tears. He sighed, "I don't care right now. We don't have to go to class to balance the budget. Wake me up at eleven." He went back to snuggling her breasts.

"Works for me." Milly shrugged and hugged him closer.

 **-]|[-**

"Where were you two?" Rivalz asked accusingly as Milly and Lelouch walked into the Student Council Room, "Lelouch ditched me yesterday and I didn't see him again, and now both of you missed the first two periods!"

"It was already two AM when I _finally_ managed to get back." Lelouch deadpanned. "I wasn't exactly having fun without you." Well, _much_ fun. And not the type Rivalz would enjoy either.

"I was worried about our dear little Lulu." Milly said, a hand on her cheek, "So I stayed up late waiting for him to come home."

"Soo…" Shirley stared at Lelouch, "Where were you Lulu? I know you went gambling again!" She glared at him, "You're going to get in trouble!"

With their attention firmly on Lelouch, she was able to activate her Geass without drawing their attention to watch their reactions. She wasn't going to mess with them right now – they had both agreed that their friends were off limits unless there was no other choice – but observing them was merely passive. As expected, the green beast of jealousy was burning a little more brightly than the other emotions in Shirley. Their friendship had become slightly strained once they all found out that she and Lelouch had been together for more than half a decade. She felt a little bad for the orange-haired girl. She knew that Shirley was infatuated with Lelouch but she wasn't the fooling-around or sharing type of girl. Milly would have been okay with it, as she loved her friend dearly, but Shirley was having none of it. They had remained friends though some of the closeness was gone.

Rivalz had been sad, but had respected their friendship more than his own infatuation. He and Lelouch had remained fast friends after a bit of a fist fight. She half-wished Shirley had been that easy. Nina just made her sigh. All she could feel from the girl was curiosity, nervousness, and that unhealthy amount of fear she had been afraid to see. Even with no Japanese in the room the poor girl still had it in the back of her mind.

Rivalz surged with excitement, "Yeah, we went gambling, and holy hell did we get an amazing haul! I still have no idea how you managed to goad that guy into raising the stakes so high!"

Lelouch chuckled, "He was confident that there was no way I could win. As far as he knew he was just cheating a dumb schoolboy out of his money. I do so love playing nobles. Their pride means they'll always pay."

"How much did you make?" Nina asked quietly from her separated table.

Lelouch's grin widened, "Twelve Million."

Shirley had been taking a sip of her drink and she immediately spat it out of the room, "Bwuh?"

"Speaking of which!" He tossed a wad of cash to Rivalz, "There's your cut buddy. Two hundred grand." Rivalz was staring at the wad as if it were the Holy Grail. He started rubbing it on his cheek lovingly.

"Twelve Million?!" Nina even raised her voice in her shock. She had even turned her chair around and stopped writing on her papers.

"Yep!" Milly exclaimed happily, "But enough about that! We have… a budget to balance!" Groans all around, "If we don't come up with a fix for the club activities budget, there won't be money left for anything at all."

"That'll be bad." Nina mumbled to herself, remembering the last time that happened.

"The equestrian club will be pissed. We don't want 'em comin' in here on horseback." Rivalz had a grin on his face as he shrugged lightly.

"I'd tell you to be a more serious council member…" Milly started, "But they did that last time." She finished in a classic deadpan.

"You should have reminded us about this yesterday!" Shirley chided the president.

"I would have suggested tomorrow, so it would be too late." Rivalz grinned again.

"No way." Lelouch declared, "I didn't get out of bed just to put it off. If that was the case I wouldn't have bothered."

"GUTS!" Milly yelled and slammed her hands down. Her friends and Lelouch cringed.

"You're trying that guts spell again?" Rivalz asked while cleaning his ear.

"Of course." She smiled brightly, "I want you putting your all into this after all."

"I don't think your magic is going to work prez."

"Actually, it got me going!" Shirley said with a smile, playing along with Milly. Just because things were strained between them didn't mean that their friendship had gone cold.

Milly turned her grin at her, "Supple and willing, that's what I like."

Shirley made a fist in front of her cheerfully, "Well, I do train hard at…"

"That's not what I meant." Milly's grin widened, "You're a ten." She turned a lidded gaze on Shirley and visibly looked downward. Shirley's heckles raised, "From what I've seen in the girls' bathroom anyway, you've been filling out in all the right places."

Shirley crossed her arms in front of her chest with furiously red cheeks, "P-pervert!"

 **-]|[-**

It was times like these that Lelouch wished he could just break character and let the people around him know the facts of life. They had finally finished balancing the budget in time for their next classes and Shirley had immediately started whining about Milly's antics once they left the Council Room. They had just entered their next classroom when they saw a group of students. The news had come on and they were crowded around one computer.

"They used poison gas?!" Lelouch was faintly amused to realize he didn't actually know most of their names.

"That's freaky! Shinjuku is only 30 minutes away!"

"I saw it!" A purple-haired girl he was fairly certain he and Milly had played around with before commented, "I saw smoke coming from Shinjuku! That must have been the poison gas!"

Lelouch sighed, and realized he didn't want to contain himself. Perhaps he could even plant the seed of doubt in some of them, "No it wasn't." He said out loud, "If it had been poison gas they would have evacuated the Settlement. There would be too much risk of the gas blowing in our direction. It doesn't really look like smoke either. That looks more like the dust cloud I saw once when I was younger after watching a building be demolished."

One of them gasped, "Look at those dead Elevens!"

Lelouch faked a look of shock, "Those are bullet wounds!" he exclaimed, "Why is the military shooting civilians?" The noise level in room started to thrum as his words got them thinking. He hid a satisfied grin. ' _So I see they're not mentioning Clovis. They must be trying to keep it hushed up until they find some poor bastard to scapegoat._ '

His thoughts were interrupted by the squealing of some of the class's ladies, "KALLEN!" He winced lightly at the shrill sound, but then the word penetrated his head, "It's been so long!"

' _Kallen?_ ' That name was certainly familiar. He turned in his chair to look. There she was, being crowded by a bunch of girls. Her hair didn't look as vibrant and it was patted down, looking almost lifeless as it hung limply around her head, down to her neck. She had a tired look to her, but he still grinned lightly. The eyes were truly a window into the soul, and he could see the fire she was trying to hide. ' _Kallen Stadtfeld…always missing class because of a sickness, yet remains at the top of the class in terms of marks._ ' He kept a light vigil on her for the rest of the day, keeping a quiet, private conversation with Milly through text. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do with her yet. He knew she was the best damn pilot he had ever come across, except perhaps the pilot of that white nightmare. He couldn't really compare the two when there was such an insane gap between them in terms of technology. He spent the rest of the day contemplating what to do with her when an opportunity arose.

"Ahh! A bee!" His attention was drawn as one of the girls squeaked in fear and the whole lot of them started running away,

"Run Kallen!" Kallen stood, pretending to stare warily at the insect.

She ran behind a set of bushes and put her hands on her knees. Once away from prying eyes, her gaze sharpened. "What's a bee doing here? Why is it after me? Is there a hive nearby?" She then realized that it was actually a wasp and not a bee. She swiped her hand and damn near cut it in half. She growled and stood, "This just pisses me off. I wish I didn't have to act like a damn invalid." She stuck her sandwich in her mouth. She then noticed someone beside her, ' _Shit! Did he see me?_ ' She swallowed her food and put on her dopey tone, "C-can I help you?"

"Yes." Lelouch smiled, "Please answer my questions." His Geass activated and her eyes became ringed in red, "Just to be sure I'm not wasting my time like an idiot, you are the pilot of the red Glasgow yes?"

"That's right."

"Why is the Stadtfeld heiress in a resistance group?" He asked next.

"I may be the Stadtfeld heiress, but my true mother was Japanese. That makes me only half Britannian, and I hate what those bastards have done to my people." Kallen answered dutifully.

"I see." Lelouch said, and then he hardened his tone. He knew her motive. Now he needed her character, "What were you and your group planning on doing with that poison gas?"

"There were mixed opinions." She said, "Some of us wanted to use it, but none of the leaders agreed with that. It would have meant a massacre. Others wanted it destroyed. My only concern was to get it out of Britannian hands. I know they wouldn't have hesitated."

Lelouch smiled, glad to see she wasn't a blood knight. He would be perfectly okay with working with her in the future, "How do you feel about all that happened?"

"Sad." Kallen looked down, even though she didn't break eye-contact, "So much death. So much senseless waste…"

"Indeed." Lelouch cancelled his Geass.

Kallen blinked and then looked at him again, "Did you need something?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure you weren't stung." Lelouch said, "With how sick rumors say you are, that could have been bad if you were allergic." She smiled lightly as he turned. Suddenly he stopped and activated his Geass again, "Oh, just to be sure… don't say anything about Shinjuku for now."

"What do you mean, about Shinjuku? Why would you say that?" Kallen's look immediately transformed into full alertness.

Lelouch's mouth dropped slightly. "Go back to class!" He commanded.

Kallen glared at him, "Not until you tell me what you mean by that!"

Lelouch deactivated it, ' _What the hell? Don't tell me this has a fucking once-per-customer limit! Damn it! I should have started testing this thing earlier!_ '

Thankfully, the tension was dispelled by Shirley, "Lulu! Kallen! We've got to head to chem lab next! Get a move on!"

Lelouch clapped a hand to his head in fake panic, "Crap! I have to set up the lab equipment today!" He took off running, surprising Kallen with how fast he was, ' _This is bad. She'll be heavily suspicious now._ ' He flew through the doors into the lab and started setting up, ' _I'll need time to think about this. I have two real options with my Geass no longer effective on her…each with their own consequences and benefits. If I trick her somehow and ease her suspicion, I'll retain my anonymity. However, I'll have to remain on guard with her at all times and I'll have to worry about whether or not I can trust her._ ' He set a crucible at each desk. Today's lab would involve a whole lot of heat, ' _Alternatively, I can bring her in fully. That would give me a left arm and we could cover for each other. We could even gift her with a Geass, bringing our side up to three. With her skills with a Knightmare, that might even be the better option. The downsides… things could turn explosive. I have no idea how she'll react to the knowledge. Things could get ugly._ ' He sighed, glad there was no one in the room yet. "I need more time. I'll need to consult Milly and C.C. too…"

 **-]|[-**

"Well, what shall we do? He may be late again this evening." Sayoko was a pretty Japanese woman with warm brown hair. She was wearing a maid outfit.

The young girl who replied had light brown, very curly hair. Her eyes were closed and she sat in a wheelchair. The two of them were sitting at a table making origami shapes. "We'll wait! He said he'd eat dinner with us tonight!" She was Lelouch's sister, Nunnally.

"Here. This one is done!"

Nunnally took the origami figure in her hand, "A bird?"

"That's right." Sayoko smiled, "It's a crane."

"Amazing!" Nunnally said happily. "The Japanese are so skillful!" Sayoko closed her eyes and smiled at her charge, not that she could see it unfortunately. Nunnally suddenly turned her head around and smiled, "Lelouch! Welcome home!" She said a little more loudly than her normal tone.

Lelouch opened the door with a smile of his own, "Sorry I'm late." Sayoko shook her head. She was still pretty amazed at how good Nunnally's hearing was. He walked over and laid a kiss on Nunnally's forehead, "Sorry for missing you last night, Nunna." He turned to Sayoko, "I would like a word with you later on, Sayoko."

Sayoko bowed, "Of course, Lelouch-sama."

He waved her off, "None of that now. How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Lelouch?"

"That would be improper, Lelouch-sama." Lelouch rolled his eyes, but gave it up for now.

A few minutes later, they were all having a bit of soup while Lelouch cut a nice piece of beef, "Miss Sayoko was just teaching me about the art of the origami. Fold a piece of paper the correct way and you can make birds, boats, almost anything!" She even dribbled some soup over her lips in her excitement.

Lelouch smiled fondly as he wiped her chin with a napkin. "Easy there. You don't have to tell me everything all at once, you know? It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"Thanks, big brother." Nunnally told him with a loving smile. She raised her hands and there was a folded origami crane in it, "Miss Sayoko told me that if you fold a thousand of these, your wish will come true!"

Lelouch took one of her hands, "And what does this little Princess wish for?"

Nunnally paused for a few moments, before telling him, "I wish the world were a gentle place."

He sighed, "I'm sure by the time you can see again, it will be." He was rather thankful that she couldn't see his face at the moment, ' _I'll make that special world for you, Nunna._ _I'm just glad you won't have to see me get my hands dirty to do it._ ' He started speaking again, "There's so much senseless waste now. We could do so much if we could just learn to understand each other and stop fighting."

"Yeah…" She looked down.

She was about to say something again when his phone rang. His eyes widened and snapped to the clock, "Sorry Nunna. I have something to do tonight. Sorry I won't be able to tuck you in." He planted a sweet kiss on her forehead.

"Where are you going big brother?" Nunnally asked in concern. Just what could he be doing so late?

"Milly needs me for something." He said with a straight face.

Nunnally looked at him, her concerned expression not changing. She knew that he had told her a lie just then, "I'm not going to be an auntie soon am I?"

Lelouch choked and then snorted, "Nothing of the sort." He laughed, "Have a good night Princess." He pecked her again and then left her and Sayoko in the room. He picked up the phone after attaching the scrambler and said, "Are you secure?"

"Yes, my lord." Villetta's voice came through.

"Good. Hold for a few minutes." He ran to his room and shut the door behind him. C.C. was the only one there this time, wearing one of his shirts and only that. There were at least a dozen pizza boxes strewn about the place, making his eyes go wide, "Damn woman, how do you fit that all in?" He was then belatedly glad Milly wasn't currently present, as that would have had her cackling.

"And just what are you trying to fit into poor C.C. mister?" Milly said from behind him, a Cheshire grin on her face. He groaned. Sayoko would kill him for that lack of situational awareness.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" C.C. smirked up at him.

He shook his head, "Quiet now." He took out the phone again, "Alright, did you manage to get the parts?" He put the phone on speaker, confident in the room's soundproofing.

"Yes, my lord. I was able to haul both the arm and the leg to safety. The arm was rather dented – likely from the height it fell from – but the leg was mostly intact." Villetta answered.

"Excellent." He hissed triumphantly. "And you are certain not a soul followed you?"

"Unless someone developed a way to evade my Factsphere, I am sure."

"Good work Miss Nu. Send me the location." Lelouch told her.

"Yes my lord. I took a very winding path through the tunnels and hid them inside a large room under a tarp. I wrote down precise instructions as I was going there. I am transferring that file as well as coordinates to you now." Lelouch's private email pinged and he turned it on. He smiled as he saw how meticulous the woman had been. She not only took pictures of every relevant area, but she also had text-based directions as well. It was a shame that his Geass would no longer affect her. She would have made an excellent sleeper agent.

"Now leave the area and make sure your tracks are covered. Destroy all possible evidence. Leave the Sutherland there. Once you are safely away, you may follow the rest of your orders." He commanded and hung up the phone. He turned to Milly and C.C. with a smirk, "So we'll have a Sutherland to play with as well. Will you girls be coming with me?"

"A night in the tunnels. You bring me to the nicest places dear." Milly said sarcastically.

"I have nothing better to do for the moment." C.C. shrugged and went to put her prisoner's outfit on.

"Girl, what are you doing?" Milly asked incredulously.

C.C. blinked owlishly at her, "Getting dressed?" She asked in confusion.

"Not in that you're not." She eyed the outfit in distaste. "Come on. I'll raid Shirley's closet if my stuff doesn't fit you."

"This is fine." C.C. rolled her eyes as she finished zipping up the suit, and then 'eeped' when Milly grabbed her by the hand and dragged her away, "Unhand me!"

"You're taking us shopping tonight! The city will look beautiful around now."

"We have work to do!" Lelouch yelled at their retreating forms indignantly. He palmed his face, and then looked at the corner.

Sayoko appeared out of the shadows, "My lord." She said neutrally.

"Our schedule has moved up, Sayoko." Her eyes widened, and she bowed, "Take care of Nunnally please."

"Yes, my lord!" She said and went to leave the room, "Don't think I didn't notice either." He groaned as she shut the door and fell back on his bed.

"These girls are going to be the death of me." A perverted grin crossed his face, "What a way to go though."

 **-]|[-**

Kallen fell face-first into her opulent mattress with a tired groan. She had stripped off her uniform and was merely in a green pair of panties. Dealing with her stuck-up Britannian classmates was such a _chore_. She groaned again as her phone rang and she rolled over to grab it, "Hello?"

"How's school life treating you?" Oghi's voice came through the line.

"Don't remind me." She growled, "Stifling. I was stuck in history class yesterday, listening to those bastards ignore and belittle our culture." She sighed, "I want to head back."

"Not a chance." Oghi replied immediately, "The army's on a high alert right now. Stay there, and let things cool off. Besides, you know Naoto wanted you to finish school."

"Don't you try to trip me, asshole!" She snarled, before calming herself, "What about the voice? Have you heard anything?"

He laughed on his end, " Can't go looking for a voice. Forget about Shinjuku for now. I'll be in touch." He hung up.

She almost threw her phone across the room, but instead just settled for squeezing it tight in her fist, "I hate when he does that." She sighed and dropped it on her table, sprawling on her bed and staring at the ceiling, "Shinjuku…" Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. She remembered back to earlier in the day, "That couldn't have been him!" She stopped and chewed lightly on her lip, "Could it?"

 **-]|[-**

Gordon was a very minor Britannian noble trying to make a fortune. He had moved from the homeland and had started a company here in Area Eleven many years back. He'd had the money to buy the equipment necessary for a heavy moving operation, and was regularly contracted by the military to move their Knightmares en masse. He and his men had even moved some more secretive projects for the crown. Currently though, he was working up a long sweat as the truck he'd sent out the previous day to pick up something for His Highness had never shown up. Worse was, he hadn't even heard anything from his men either. This would be a disaster for his company! A knock at his door had him growling, "I told you that I did not wish to be disturbed unless it was an emergency Jessica!"

"My apologies." Lelouch said as he came in through the door, "If you don't wish my business, I can always go elsewhere."

Gordon eyed the boy in front of him with a raised eyebrow, "And what business would that be, kid? No offense, but you don't look the type to need something heavy picked up."

"As a matter of fact…" Lelouch's face lit up with a smirk as his eye began glowing that demonic red, "I have need of your equipment and it needs to be kept off the books. Right now, I would like you to obey me."

Gordon's world went dark, "Yes, my lord."

 **-]|[-**

"How in the world did you manage to have all of this set up?" C.C. asked incredulously. She was marveling at the clean, state-of-the-art facility she had been brought to. It was built directly into the mountain for one. The facility was massive and went underground. There were at least half a dozen basement floors just from what she had been able to tell from the buttons on the elevator, and possibly more. There was no guarantee that was the only elevator after all. The tour they had given her had taken her through the facility, and she had seen everything from advanced robotics and experimental cybernetics to weaponry such as the arm-mounted extendable blade Lelouch carried. Lower had been the experimental Knightmares she had heard so much about, and lower still had been a giant arena. While these machines certainly had not been on par with the white Knightmare they had faced, they had been impressive.

Lelouch was the one who answered, "This facility was commissioned long before I came to Japan. Ruben Ashford started building it around the time when Nunnally was born in secret. He feared that the time would come when the Court would turn on my mother, and she supported and funded his efforts. No one else knew but the two of them and the building companies, who were payed handsomely to keep it secret. He had it built here in the Nagano prefecture since Japan is the largest producer of Sakuradite in the world. After months of clandestine surveying, he discovered an untouched vein buried here in the Hida Mountains. A whole hell of a lot of my mother's cash traded hands to acquire the land and then a whole lot of bureaucrats silenced to keep it secret. We intended it to be an entirely self-contained unit. Nearby we have vertical farms supplying food. We trade for meat of course. There are living quarters for everyone here."

Milly picked up from where he had left off, "It was nearing completion when…Lady Marianne was assassinated. After my family had our noble titles stolen away, we fled to Japan. We no longer had the funds, but the facility was close to finished. It went dark and we just kept up basic maintenance here for a couple of years, and then we reactivated it when Lelouch started getting the funds we needed."

"The personnel?" She asked, rather awed at what they had accomplished.

"Men loyal beyond a doubt to Milly's grandfather to start." Lelouch said as they watched the stolen Lancelot pieces get brought into the labs. The people he had put under Geass brought the two containers in on forklifts and then left. Their orders were to get as drunk as possible so that in the morning they'd have an excuse for losing a day of work. The head of the company was definitely included in this, as it had amused Lelouch to know that _they_ were the company responsible for originally moving the 'poison gas' container. "But that was only enough for a skeleton crew." He smirked maliciously, "So we had to turn local. We started pulling up school records. Obituaries. Looking up the brightest scientific minds we could find in Japan. People who would have been down on their luck if they survived and struggling to make a living under their Britannian masters. People with chips on their shoulders. Then we felt them out. Learned about them. Only when we were certain we could be sure of their loyalty were they approached. And if they agreed to work for us… then they and their surviving families… _disappeared._ To the world outside, most of these men and women are dead. Only the city nearby knows of them and they aren't talking." He smirked at her, "It's a wonder the kind of loyalty you can acquire when you treat people like human beings and pay them well."

Milly chimed in, "After that, we even started recruiting abroad. This place is multinational. In the Settlement, we also have a front company. We called it Nova." C.C.'s eyes bugged out. Even she had heard of that company prior to her capture. It had just been a fledgling back then, but their first creations had improved life for a lot of people. The vertical farms came from them. "Through them, we sell the inventions that are safe to release into the outer world. They fund the research here, with some help from Lulu. The front company also produces its own products. We recruit directly out of Ashford. We've had to work hard to keep the company out of the hard limelight for so long. We've never contracted with the military for example, and have held back some of our more revolutionary tech."

C.C. sighed, "I've been more than patient. I think I would like a few questions of my own answered."

"Save it for now." He sighed, "First we need to discuss. What are we going to do about Kallen? If we're going to be bringing her in I don't want to tell the story twice."

"What a way to find out your Geass has limits." Milly rubbed her face, "I assume you've already considered the consequences?"

"Of course." He said blandly, "Option one is to be the enigmatic leader. I'm certain that I can trick her with a prerecorded message if I can get her alone in private. We'd be difficult to approach and would need to keep them at arm's length. The advantages are retaining our anonymity, of course. In addition, it could mean avoiding a fight. We have no idea how she would react. Things could turn nasty. Of course, the downsides are just as important. Even if I got her and her cohorts to trust me, I would always have to worry about betrayal should they learn who I am. In addition, it would mean missing out on a chance to bring another Geass user to our side." He looked askance at C.C., who nodded languidly.

"You better not be planning on letting them _all_ know, as I'm not about to just start handing Geass about like candy." C.C. said blandly.

"No, of course not." Lelouch denied, "Only my commanders. The ones I can trust. The last thing I want is to have to worry about some sort of betrayal made possible through Geass."

"You don't know you can trust her." She pointed out.

"No, I'm don't. And as I wasted my Geass on her, it would be a leap of faith." He said heavily.

Milly cut in, "Letting her in is the other option." She brushed her hair back, "If we give her full disclosure from the beginning, we will be sure she is _with us_. We could cover for her, and she for us. She's already an excellent pilot and possibly an excellent fighter as well. With her by our side, developing our Knightmares would go much more smoothly. You're a good pilot hun, but from what you've told me she's _magic._ She would also give us an in with her cell, and possibly others as well."

"She was. I was beyond impressed." Lelouch admitted, "If she hadn't been in that bucket of scrap I would have pit her against the white Knightmare without a worry. Once she has more experience I'd even be comfortable pitting her against the Rounds."

"Plus…" Milly trailed off before smiling suggestively, "She's sexy as hell."

C.C. rolled her eyes, "We are not basing possibly our entire operation's success on attractiveness." She sat on the railing, entirely unconcerned with the possibility of death-by-falling, "The downsides have already been stated. We have no idea how this girl will react. Things could get ugly if she reacts badly."

Lelouch sighed. They weren't getting anywhere like this. "Opinions?"

"I'm for bringing her in." Milly said, "You're an excellent pilot but we need a true ace. She could help speed development along tremendously."

"I don't care either way." C.C. shrugged, "I'll support you in whatever decision you choose."

Lelouch grinned, "So be it." He grabbed C.C. and pulled her off the railing, "Now, let's go and get you fitted with one of our hidden blades before you go and get yourself captured again." He teased. Her indignant squawk was music to his ears.

 **-]|[-**

Kallen watched Lelouch closely during classes the next day, ' _I can't tell._ ' She admitted to herself in annoyance.

"-cracy was highly educated. By concentrating on the ruling class with intensive education and training, they produced a superior breed of ruler. And secondly, they possessed heightened efficiency, since only a small number of the very best were carefully chosen from their ranks..." Lelouch had to fight very hard not to let his discontent show in his voice. ' _Very best my ass. A noble can't even give me a good match._ '

…

"Hey Lulu, I'm about to head to-" Shirley started to say as Lelouch was packing his bags. The last class of the day had finished and now it was time to bite the bullet.

"Sorry Shirley. Maybe later." He said as he slung it over his shoulder. He walked over to Kallen and the gaggle of giggly girls surrounding her. They immediately quieted as the Ashford Prince neared, and one even came close to swooning, "I'd like you to come with me, Miss Stadtfeld. I have some things to discuss with you." Behind them, Shirley's jaw dropped.

' _Now even Kallen?!_ ' She screeched in her head. Sadness started hitting her. She knew he and Milly had been together for years but in the back of her head, she still had hope. Now he was even talking to Kallen and ignoring her! What did she have to do to get her love's attention?

"I was wondering when you'd ask." Kallen stood and followed him out. Her reaction set the girls who had surrounded her to squealing and gossiping.

 **-]|[-**

"I didn't know anything like this existed here in Ashford." Kallen could admit that to herself. She rather hated the reminder of what her people suffered, but she could appreciate its beauty while hating the waste of resources.

"It's the club house for the Student Council. It was build large enough to hold a ball if needed." Lelouch replied as she took the place in. Even he admitted it was opulent to the point it was almost bordering on gaudy.

"Then we won't be disturbed here." Kallen asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"That's righ-"

"Here it is! I found it! Look! This is it, right?" Shirley's voice cut him off and they both stared in shock at the top of the stairs. They could make out Shirley's orange hair as she waved something in her hand above her.

"Ah! The experimental data! What a relief!" Nina said, taking it from her with a happy smile.

Rivalz got up and held his back in seeming pain, "Great. Wish that didn't take so long. My back is killing me."

"Not going to be disturbed huh?" Kallen muttered to him.

"God damn it Milly." He sighed back as Milly came through pushing a food cart.

"Were you able to find it? I finished up on my end, shall we dig in?" Milly called as she started setting the tables. The rest of the council started closing in and helping with the setup.

"Wow!" Rivalz drooled as he stared at the food.

"Way to go Prez!" Shirley said.

"You adore me!" Milly soaked in the love, "Please compliment me more."

"What's this Milly?" Lelouch asked in exasperation.

"Why, it's Kallen's induction dinner of course. I thought you knew." Milly replied with a wink.

"Induction dinner?" Kallen asked in bewilderment.

"I assumed that would come _after_." Lelouch groused. To all of them but Milly, that was a statement of ' _after she agreed to join._ ' To Milly, the message rang slightly more clear.

Milly smiled at Kallen who still looked confused, "It's simple Kallen. The rule here at the academy is that all students must be a part of at least one club. With your health issues, we thought that you would do well here on the Student Council. Grandfather thought it would be your best bet, and I agreed. I'm Milly Ashford by the way, the Student Council President. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kallen couldn't be sure, but she almost felt as if Milly was undressing her with her eyes. She bowed slightly, "Ah, the pleasure is all mine."

Rivalz waved at her, "I'm Rivalz Cardemonde, the secretary. If there's anything you need help with, I'm your man!" He pointed his thumb at himself.

' _A free Japan would be nice._ ' Kallen groused inside her head.

"I'm Shirley Fenette! I'm a member of the swim team." Shirley waved cheerfully at her.

Nina had her arms crossed in front of her and she wiggled side-to-side slightly, "Ahh…I'm Nina Einstein."

Kallen smiled, "It's nice to meet you all."

A new voice caught their attention, "Um, excuse me Shirley! Do you think you could set these on the table for me?" Kallen laid eyes on a girl in a wheelchair and it seemed to shock her. The girl was as cute as a button but she had her eyes closed.

"Sure Nunna!" Shirley chirped and went to go held the poor girl.

"That's Nunnally." Milly told Shirley, "She's Lelouch's little sister."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Kallen." Nunnally bowed slightly in her chair, "I'm still a junior so I'm not on the council yet."

"You're an honorary member." Rivalz waved her off with a grin, not that she could see. But she could hear it in his tone, and that was enough.

Kallen smiled genuinely this time, "It's nice to meet you too, Nunnally."

"Well now!" Rivalz yelled boisterously, "Shall we start this party off with a toast?" Kallen's eyes dipped and landed on an unopened bottle of champagne. Rivalz started trying to work the cork.

"Oh no." She heard Lelouch mumble as he passed her.

"Champagne!" Shirley yelled in shock.

"We're on the council." Nina said timidly, "We really shouldn't."

"Lighten up guys!" He lifted the bottle up and continued trying to pop the cork.

Shirley latched on to his arm and tried to wrestle the bottle away, "No way! We're underage! Let me see that bottle!"

"What's going on?" Nunnally asked curiously as Milly put a glass of orange juice in her hand.

"Lelouch! Catch!"

Rivalz threw the bottle at Lelouch who caught it. "Damn it Rivalz! Don't get me caught up too!"

Shirley pushed Rivalz down and vaulted over him, "Not you too Lulu! You're not getting away with this either." She dove and the two of them crumpled to the floor. The bottle finally couldn't take it anymore and the cork popped. It flew straight at Kallen who batted it away with a quickness. Her gaze sharpened and her hand was a blur.

Unfortunately, she didn't quite think to get away from the liquid. "Eep!" The champagne rained on her head and soaked into her clothes. The stream was spewing in a perfect arc onto her hair, before it petered off and started shrinking.

"What just happened?" Nunnally asked, wishing for a moment that she could see.

Lelouch and Milly both facepalmed.

 **-]|[-**

"This is why I hate Britannians." Kallen grumbled from within the shower. She pulled the curtain as she heard a knock, "Come in! The curtain is drawn."

"Sorry about them." Lelouch grumbled, "This day isn't going the way I planned."

"It's fine." Kallen sighed, her annoyance mostly gone. At least they had a shower nearby, "Everyone needs to cut loose every once in a while."

"I brought you a change of clothes." Lelouch told her as he set them next to her bag, "They're mine, since Milly is a bit more stacked up top than you are." He grinned as he saw her outline. Milly certainly hadn't been _wrong_.

Kallen blushed lightly, "Wh-what are you saying so suddenly?" She shook her head, "Anyway, you ran all the way back to the dorms so quickly?"

He snorted, "Nah, I live in here. My sister would have a pretty rough time in the dorms, so the school's principle let us stay here."

Kallen deadpanned. This kid had this gigantic place practically to himself? "I see…" What else could she really say to that?

"Anyway, I'll…" Lelouch started to leave, but her voice rang out again.

"Can you grab me that pouch please?" She pointed towards the sink where her pink wallet sat.

"Sure thing." He grabbed it and walked over to the shower, not making any attempt to turn. So he had turned as perverted as Milly. Sue him. He stuck his right hand into the shower, "Here you are." Only instead of grabbing it, the redhead clenched his wrist in a vice-grip, "Feisty, aren't we?"

"Were you in Shinjuku that day?" Kallen kneeled just enough to pick up her pouch. With it in her hand, she squeezed, revealing a shining blade.

Lelouch smirked, ' _That's a nice grip._ ' He decided to play with her for a bit, "Oh, is there something wrong with Shinjuku?"

"Don't answer my question with another question!" She snapped at him, "You brought up Shinjuku the other day, so don't play dumb."

"And your plan was to interrogate me in a _school_ _bathroom_ while wet and naked?" Lelouch chuckled.

Kallen blushed, "Well, we haven't exactly been able to have any privacy any way else, have we?"

"Oh, I can think of a few ways…" Lelouch waggled his eyebrows.

She took a second, and then her blush deepened, "Pervert!"

"Hey, you're the one who's naked and holding my wrist." Lelouch laughed in amusement. Before his face sharpened and became serious, "Of course, you've miscalculated."

Kallen's eyes widened, "And how have I done that?" Lelouch raised his left arm – which she hadn't been paying attention to – and jerked it forward an inch. His red and white blade – he had one on each arm – extended forward, piercing the curtain. It extended past her, with the flat just barely ghosting on her skin. Kallen jumped back, though she didn't need to. She shivered as she stared at the blade which could easily have ended her life just then. She snapped her head back to him, idly realizing that she must have jerked their hands because the curtain had drawn itself back slightly and she could see his face. She swallowed heavily, "Alright, so maybe I did." She said more than a little sheepishly, and very much shaken. She hadn't seen that coming in the slightest. "Never seen one of these before." She commented conversationally.

"That's because I'm the one who funded its creation, Q1." Lelouch smirked as her eyes widened, "And I didn't go through all that effort leading you to victory just to kill you later myself soooo…" Kallen bit her lip, before flicking her hand and holstering her knife. She dropped the pouch. Lelouch smiled warmly again and retracted his blade, "Now, unless you plan on pulling me in there and making that a more _steamy_ shower," Her eyes bulged as his face went perverted and his eyes dipped lower, "Perhaps I might have my arm back?"

She looked down, realizing she was utterly bare before his roving eyes. Her face boiled in embarrassment as she let go and swung, "PERVERT!"

 **-]|[-**

She glared heatedly at him as she exited the bathroom. His face was still red and throbbing but he smirked at her nonetheless. He pulled out a phone and speed-dialed someone, "Hey Sayoko. Would you mind exchanging the shower curtain on the fifth bathroom on the second floor please?"

"Of course, Lelouch-sama." A Japanese woman's voice came through the phone, making Kallen's eyes go wide.

He hung up, "Who was that?" She asked him curiously.

"My maid, bodyguard and sensei." He replied with a light grin. "Having an actual ninja on your retinue is so useful, wouldn't you say?"

"A ninja?" She asked incredulously.

"Indeed." He smirked and offered her an arm, "Now shall we, Miss Stadtfeld? Or do you prefer Kōzuki?" She glared at him heatedly again, "Fine then. Let's go."

A few minutes later, they came upon a door. Lelouch unlocked it and walked in, "Where did you brin-" She bit back a groan, "I thought I was supposed to get some _answers_." She hissed at his back through gritted teeth.

"You are. Now hurry up and close the door." Lelouch commanded as he sat on his bed. This bloody Britannian had brought her to his _bedroom_ , and they had _company_.

"Sorry about earlier!" Milly said cheerfully, "The plans of mice and men and all that rot. I tried to kill two birds with one stone and instead ended up being one of the birds. Or perhaps with egg on my face." She was sitting in one of the chairs, while another girl – with green hair of all things – sat swinging her legs on one of the desks.

Kallen's eyes widened, ' _Two birds with one…_ ' She turned to Lelouch, "Is she part of this?" She asked incredulously.

"I am." Kallen was dumbfounded as she went from playful to serious in the blink of an eye. She then scrunched her eyebrows and turned to Lelouch, "What happened to your face?"

"Worth it." Kallen's eyebrow twitched as he grinned unapologetically.

Milly frowned, "You saw her in the shower? You lucky little shit." She complained, and Kallen's eyes bulged as Milly started looking her up and down.

"What kind of den of debauchery have you dragged me into?" She cried and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

The three laughed, before Lelouch cut it short, "As you know, I am Lelouch Lamperouge. This is Milly Ashford. The green-haired girl hasn't deigned to name herself yet, and is going by C.C." He shot a glare at the verdette. The green-haired girl stuck her tongue out at him.

Kallen sighed. Finally some normalcy, "Kallen Kōzuki. I go by Stadtfeld in public. Now… I want some answers! What the hell is going on? How did you arrange that ceasefire? How did you get us all of that equipment? What the bloody hell are two _Britannian teenagers_ doing leading a ramshackle resistance cell to victory against the fucking military?" She hissed finally.

"Well, to be fair, it was only Lelouch doing any leading. I'm the owner of two of our companies and my family has sheltered his." Milly said, "I have been his partner and accomplice since Japan was conquered by Britannia."

Kallen's eyes widened, "For that long? Neither of you were even teens yet!"

"What does age matter?" Lelouch asked her, and she floundered for a moment, "Tell me Kallen…" Lelouch said, "When Japan fell, what happened to your family? "

Kallen turned to him, biting her lip lightly. "Why should I tell you?"

"Why would we share our reasons when you aren't willing to do the same?" Milly asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kallen hesitated, but eventually sighed, "My parents were forced to separate. My father was forced by his family to remarry to some Britannian highborn bitch, who turned out to be sterile. My real mother had my father make sure I was his heir, but then he just left. I haven't seen him since then. My dumb mother keeps pining for her lord husband, and sticks around suffering abuse as a maid." She pursed her lips, "We lived in relative comfort – my brother and I – but we couldn't take our people being oppressed anymore. My brother formed a resistance cell and we have been trying to resist Britannia since."

Lelouch nodded in a vaguely-mocking manner, "Well, I'm afraid I didn't have it anywhere as easy as that." She glared heatedly at him, "I had already been living in Japan with my crippled and blinded sister for a year when the bombs started to fall. Nunnally had been recovering far better here in Japan than she ever would have over in the homeland. We came to be very close friends with some of the Japanese. We were happy. Our home was perfectly out of the way, in an area that would have been ignored by any tactician."

He started to laugh, "So imagine my surprise when we were out having a picnic and our house and everyone inside of it exploded." His laughter stopped abruptly, "Imagine my further surprise when a Knightmare airdropped in. It was only the fact that we had a few bodyguards that saved us that day, since OSI showed up to finish the job." Kallen's jaw had lowered in shock, "They managed to destroy the Knightmare with an RPG. Glasgows – especially those earlier models – were much flimsier than Sutherlands. There's a reason Tōdō was able to win against them. Anyway, we escaped with our lives, but only after two of our three bodyguards had been gunned down. The last one died killing the OSI agent after he left his Knightmare." He shrugged, "So there we were, two ten year olds with a crippled seven year old. Alone, in the wilderness." Kallen had turned more and more pale as he had gone on, "Oh, I had been an arrogant little shit back then. So sure of my intelligence. So sure that I could think myself out of any situation. That manual labor was for plebeians." He sighed, "After we were separated from our friend, I had to carry Nunnally on my back. Up hills…through the forests… We couldn't trust anyone after all. And then through the sea of dead Japanese. Do you know what it's like to have to lie to your innocent little sister about what the smell of dead bodies is?"

"Oh god…" Kallen had her hand over her mouth, looking genuinely sad for what he had to go through. He hadn't been kidding.

Milly spoke up next, "After six weeks, this starving little kid exits an abandoned grocery store with the few packets of food he could find in his little arms, and my grandfather just happened to be there to recognize him." Well, not _exactly_. Her grandfather had been hoping against hope that they still lived, and had some loyal men scouring the countryside hoping to find them, "He picked them up immediately and brought them home." She said simply, "It was a miracle that they survived. Lelouch had given Nunnally the lion's share of the food he had managed to scrounge up, so she wouldn't go hungry. He was skin and bones. We took him in." She smiled sadly, "And then came that infamous moment that changed everything."

 _Lelouch had been sobbing into his pillow for the better part of an hour. They weren't tears of sadness, but of joy. Finally, they were safe._ Nunnally _was safe. He knew he could trust old man Ashford. They had been regulars back at the Aires Villa, and Lelouch knew genuine affection when he saw it. He had convinced them not to let anyone know they were alive, so there was no risk of them being assassinated at this point. He never even heard his door open as a little blonde bundle of joy walk in._

 _Milly's heart nearly broke as she saw what had become of the boy she knew she loved. She put a knee on his bed and as soon as it depressed, he gasped and shot up. Milly's arms went out and pulled him to her, hugging him for all she was worth, "Oh Lulu…" She whispered, "I'm so sorry…for everything! But I'm just…happy… I'm so happy you're alive!" Tears started pouring out of her eyes as well, "I've missed you so much…" She whispered to him, as he resumed crying into her neck. His tiny arms clenched at her with little strength, and she knew part of that was just the emaciation. She ran her fingers through his hair, which had thankfully gone through a thorough cleaning, "Do you…want to talk about it?"_

 _Lelouch sniffled, "I…" He trailed off. Even his voice was weak, "Not really."_

" _Talking about it will help." She bit her lip, "Please Lulu? I don't want it to just eat away at you."_

 _He stayed quiet for so long she thought he had fallen asleep on her. She just kept scratching lightly at his head and running her hands through his hair, "I…we were attacked." He said hoarsely, "We were so far from anything of strategic value, but even still…they dropped bombs on the shrine! There was no reason for it! And then a Knightmare showed up! It was a miracle we were able to escape!" Milly went wide eyed. Had the ones who assassinated his mother tried to finish the job?_

" _I…" he started to shake again, "I had to carry Nunnally on my back. She had been doing so well here. The people were so kind to her. No one ever looked at her poorly or spoke to her as if her injuries defined her. I had to carry her over so many dead Japanese…" Milly couldn't help but start crying again over what her two closest friends had been though._

" _Lulu…" What could she say to that?_

 _Lelouch was exhausted, and hate was currently one of the emotions dominating him. In his weakness he had shouted his goal to Suzaku. And now in the darkness, he did so again, "Milly…" His voice had changed and he pulled back. Milly had been surprised at how dark his voice had gotten and now she was shocked at the sheer amount of rage and hate on his face, "I'm going to_ _ **destroy**_ _Britannia!"_

 _Milly blinked in shock. She giggled helplessly. That kind of nervous giggle you have when there really is just no other way to react. She couldn't possibly have heard right could she?, "Haha Lulu. Your jokes have improved." She cringed when he glared at her, "Come on Lulu. You're just kidding right? That's crazy talk! You're safe here! You and Nunnally can be happy here!"_

 _He growled at her, "OSI sent agents after us! They bombed our shrine and sent a Knightmare after us! What guarantee is there that they won't try again?! They could be coming here now, to kill all of us!"_

" _Lelouch!" She hissed, starting to get angry, "The Britannian Empire spans a_ third _of the world! They have all the money! They have the best technology in the world! It takes both China and the EU at once to even worry Britannia! This is madness!"_

" _So we're supposed to live in fear our whole lives?" He hissed back, "We're supposed to let them get away with murder? Of conquering peaceful people! They're rotten!"_

 _Milly's lip quivered, "There's no talking you out of this is there?" She whispered sadly._

" _No." He sighed and looked at her expressionlessly, "I shouldn't have said anything at all. You'll keep quiet, right?" There was a resigned, but dangerous edge to the word that Milly couldn't ignore._

" _Of course." She snorted, "I'd be just as screwed as you would be if I said anything, partner." His eyes bulged and his mouth opened soundlessly, "What, you think I'm going to let you set out on this stupidity by yourself?"_

" _Now who's talking stupid?" Lelouch finally regained himself and shot back._

" _You're talking about defeating the strongest empire in the history of the entire world! There's no possible way you could get me to let you go at it alone." She glared at him, "So if we're going to do this, you're going to listen to me." She crossed her arms and a resolute expression crossed her face, "We Ashfords have always supported your family, but if you try to me blow off right now I'm knocking you out and going straight to grandpa!"_

 _His face twisted in anger at what he perceived to be a betrayal, "How dare you! I told you this in confidence! You trai-"_

 _He couldn't go any further because she shoved him back. He squeaked in shock as she straddled him and pinned his arms, "Now you're going to listen to me,_ _ **understood**_ _?!" He swallowed heavily and nodded, "Lelouch, it's been SIX WEEKS since you and Nunna were pronounced dead. Every. Single. Day since then has been a nightmare for me!" She started to cry again, her expression breaking, "I haven't slept. I've barely eaten. I lost five pounds! All because I was so depressed over the thought that you were dead! I've heard some of the others say I looked like I had already died and my body just hadn't realized it! I am NOT losing you and Nunna again! Is that understood!" Lelouch swallowed heavily, "So if you really intend to follow through on this madness, I'll follow you in to the depths of hell. But we're damn well going to win and that means you need to swallow your_ fucking _pride!" Hearing the young woman swear shocked Lelouch. He was reduced to staring up at her with wide eyes, "So if I'm going to support you through this, you're going to have to do three things or this is over right now! It isn't just going to be your ass in the fire if we do this."_

 _He swallowed again and licked his lips, "Alright Milly… what are they?"_

" _First of all, I'm a full partner!" She said, letting his hands go, "You're so used to being the smartest person in the room that I have no doubt you'll try to ignore me or my opinions. Every good leader has advisors and you're not going to be any different! Remember that you've never beaten_ him. _"_

 _Lelouch scowled at the reminder, "Alright." He conceded. She was right. He never_ had _beaten his brother._

 _Milly smiled, happy that she was getting through to him, "Second of all, through our time here in Japan we have acquired a retainer. She daylights as our simple maid, but she is actually a_ ninja _. Even long before the invasion, she's had to_ take care _of a couple of idiots who came thinking the disgraced Ashfords were easy targets." Lelouch was staring wide-eyed at the blonde on top of him, "You Mister I-Will-Destroy-Britannia are going to be training with her!"_

" _Absolutely no-"_

" _This is non-negotiable!" She stuck her finger in front of his face, "You had to carry Nunnally on your back for six weeks! I am not letting our entire operation fail because you couldn't handle a two-bit soldier with a knife! I'm a girl and I can pin you so easily it's embarrassing! You need to swallow your damn pride and realize that you're going to have to get dirty! Again Lelouch, you're used to being the smartest in the room but this is_ an empire spanning a full THIRD of the world! _If you try to ignore yourself and just coast as we prepare I'll damn well drag you to Sayoko myself. Daily!"_

 _Lelouch looked like a surly brat who had been denied a treat, "Fine." He hissed, "You damn witch! But you're going to be right here with me!"_

" _I was planning on it, lazy bones." She rolled her eyes, "Third!" She held up three fingers imperiously, "We're playing to win." She said, her smile turning somber, "It won't be just me and you who will die if we fail. It'll be grandpa. Nunnally. Any friends we make and allies who help us. We're all traitors from this moment on. It won't just be our bums in the fire. We have to take this seriously starting now, which means gathering resources. Allies. Knowledge. Anything we can think of to prepare for this revolution. If I falter, you push me. If you falter, I'll push you even harder! We need to win!"_

 _It was Lelouch's turn to swallow heavily, "Yeah." He sat up on his elbows, "Thanks Milly… I think I needed this."_

 _She smiled, ecstatic that she had gotten through to him. She smirked mischievously, "Forth!"_

 _Lelouch's eyebrow raised, "I thought you said you had three demands?"_

 _She grinned, "That was for our revolution." She suddenly grabbed his pajamas in her fists and forced him flat on the bed. She leaned in, "This is for me." She claimed his lips._

Kallen and C.C. were both considering all that they had learned. Kallen turned expressionless eyes to Lelouch, "Your mother." She said conversationally, "Was her first name Marianne?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Lelouch had to force down a rather sheepish grin.

She snorted, "If you truly were attacked by OSI for no discernable reason, then you had to have been important to _someone_. I may hate Britannia but I know its history. Your names could have been coincidences until now."

Lelouch smiled humorlessly and stood. He kneeled with his left leg and brought his left arm in front of his body again, in the Knight's Kneel, "Lelouch vi Britannia, at your service. Son to a murdered mother. Brother to a crippled sister. And in this life or the next, I will have my vengeance!"

Kallen let out an explosive sigh as Lelouch sat back on his bed, "This better not be just an attempt to take the throne for yourself!" She hissed angrily at him.

"That!" All hints of amusement left his face and he jabbed his finger in her direction, "It isn't. It has _never_ been about gaining the throne." Kallen was quite shocked to see the genuine fury in his eyes.

"Though to be honest it'll likely end up that way anyway." She was quite surprised to see Lelouch's head snap to Milly in shock. Milly shrugged, "What? Are we supposed to destroy an empire and then just leave the territories in ashes?" The blonde bombshell snorted, "As if we would ever do that. Even if we ignored all the innocent people we'd leave suffering – which neither of us would be willing to do – the world's economy would be in shambles."

"What's this we business?" Kallen asked sharply as Lelouch floundered momentarily, "I haven't joined you yet and I have no inclination of joining a _Prince_ of the country I hate. We don't exactly need you to free Japan! That's my only concern here!"

Lelouch shot her such a disgusted look that it made her flinch, "Right, because you lot have been doing a bang up job so far. How many victories has Japan won against Britannia since Tōdō's Miracle again?"

Kallen pursed her lips, "One." She growled, "Thanks to you." She looked down and clenched her fists.

He snorted, "Don't misunderstand. It's good that you're not blindly following us. My ultimate goal is Britannia's destruction but that doesn't mean I'm just going to be using the Japanese. This country has been more my home than Pendragon ever was. I don't like to see your people suffering any more than you do. What Britannia has done to your people and the people of the other areas they've conquered is abominable! Milly and I have helped many Japanese citizens out. You'll see that later when you take a tour of our hidden facility."

Milly chimed in again, "It doesn't help that Britannia _has_ done some good, and don't you dare deny that." She said sharply as Kallen went to protest, "As much as we hate to admit it, Britannia is a first world country. The standard of living its citizens enjoy is so much higher than most other places that it's laughable to even compare them. Some of the technology we've given the world has been incredible. The problem is the ' _Holier than Thou_ ' attitude so many of us have. The nobility is a cancer and their attitudes trickle down towards the common people." She sighed, "What we need is unity. We need to bring the Areas up to Britannian standards without taking away their pride, their homes and their lives."

"It is not its people or even Britannia itself that we must fight." Lelouch sighed, "It is the System of Arrogance the country runs on. It is the parasitic nobility who have done nothing to earn what they have. And most of all, it is _that_ man. The one fueling all the hate, by shouting out that, ' _All men are not created equal._ ' Even discounting the fact that I want revenge, our true enemy is the head of the snake. I intend to cut that head off."

Kallen was working her lip furiously, "What of my other questions? You've only answered one of them." She was honestly stalling for time at this point. She needed to formulate an opinion. "And who the hell is she and why is she here?" She jerked her head towards C.C., who had yet to say a word.

"How did I lead you to victory you mean?" He asked her, and she nodded. "Honestly, that was boring. Clovis was worse than a rank amateur. Your group could easily have taken them out if you had the equipment to match. Heh, I'm pretty sure if you had a Gloucester the rest of us could have just sat around and served you lemonade occasionally when you needed a new energy filler." He chuckled as she went beet red, "As for how I ordered the ceasefire and acquired the Sutherlands…" He smirked, "Both of those tie together, as well as with C.C. I'm afraid I won't be able to give you specifics until I have your answer, Kallen."

She suddenly had another question, "Will you be revealing yourself to my comrades as well?"

"Oh heavens no." Lelouch shook his head, "We were already taking a huge gamble with bringing you in fully. You can at least see the other side of things. You know not every Britannian is a heartless monster. All of their interactions with Britannians have been negative until now. I haven't proven myself to them yet nor have I been able to foster relationships between them and some good Britannians. None of them would follow me willingly. Imagine the idiot learning that their new leader is a Prince. He'd probably die."

"The idiot…?" Kallen stopped and thought about it, before her cheeks bulged slightly, "Pfffff…."

Lelouch chuckled and finished up, "No, I'll have to create an identity for myself."

"No, you're right. For right now, revealing yourself would be a poor idea. Even if I thought they would accept you, you're in hiding. It would be bad to have you caught on camera for now." Finally, Kallen made her decision, "If I join you, it's the same deal she gave. I'm a full partner! Someone needs to make sure you're keeping your promise and not just trying to exploit us."

Lelouch and Milly smiled happily, "Excellent." He said and stood. He offered her his hand, which she grasped firmly, "Then welcome aboard, Kallen."

She smiled back, though a mite more hesitantly, "I just hope I'm not making a deal with the devil here…" She mumbled.

Milly giggled heartily, "No… that comes later."

Kallen did not noticed C.C. rolling her eyes, "I prefer Witch, thank you very much."

Kallen blanched as the verdette spoke up for the first time, "…What?"

Lelouch turned to Milly, "I can't, so you'll have to show her."

"Show me what?" Kallen asked, snapping her head to the both of them repeatedly in confusion. She immediately wished she hadn't asked as Milly's mischievous look became even more so and her smile turned positively raunchy. She gasped as she watched Milly's left eye change. Some sort of weird crane sigil appeared in it, and then Kallen felt such an overpowering wave of lust flow through her that her knees started to buckle as she struggled to stay standing. She was squeezing and rubbing her thighs together. Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks and her breath almost steamed in front of her as her whole body felt like it was on fire, "Sto-… what are you doing to me?!" And just like, that, it was gone. She was back to normal, but for her heaving chest, "What the _fuck_ was that?!" She gasped as she wobbled.

"Damn it Milly!" Lelouch cursed as he caught her and sat her on the bed, "I wanted you to show her not break her!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Milly was wincing, "I haven't learned to control it fully yet. It got away from me and I overpowered it." She looked honestly contrite as she came to kneel in front of Kallen and took one of her hands, "I'm really sorry Kallen. I didn't mean to do that. Forgive me?"

Kallen's breaths had slowed and she took a deep one to calm herself, "Wh-what was that?"

"That my dear, was Geass." Lelouch said as he stood. He looked her in the eye and she gasped as his eye also took on that strange sigil. "It is also known as the Power of the Kings, and it was with it that I accomplished some of the things I did in Shinjuku."

"I…I see." She didn't.

He snorted, "No you don't." He teased, "Milly's Geass allows her to manipulate emotions."

"This is…"

"Crazy?" Milly asked with a giggle, "Tell me about it. I'm still half convinced this whole thing has just been some bad trip."

Kallen blushed, not able to look the girl in the eye, "Why…why _that_ one?"

Milly stood and sat back on her chair, sensing the redhead was now uncomfortable, "Sorry. I'm too playful for my own good." She shot her another apologetic look, "It was also the easiest emotion to manipulate in a way that you would fully understand was artificial. I just haven't had this power for more than a day and I messed up. I really am sorry! I just wanted to tease you a bit."

"Don't do it again!" She commanded, cheeks still very red.

"I won't. I promise! We both already promised to not use them on our friends unless there was no other option. I haven't been using it on you during the meeting either!" Milly told her seriously.

Kallen nodded and resolved to put the incident behind her, "…Alright." She turned to Lelouch, "Why couldn't you show me yours instead?"

"Every Geass is different." Lelouch said, "Geass is born from our inner desires and our personalities, so it is very rare for more than one person to have the same kind. My Geass is…terrifying." He was not afraid of admitting it to himself.

Kallen bit her lip again, "What is it?"

He looked straight at her, "I command and you obey." He said, "No matter what order I give, you will follow it to the best of your ability." Kallen's eyes had bugged out, "In Shinjuku, Clovis's Royal Guard had me cornered. I ordered them to die, and they shot themselves with smiles on their faces."

"That's!" Kallen stood and looked like a cornered animal. Her face changed and she glared at him furiously, "How do I know you're not using it on me now!"

He shot her a disappointed look, "Come now Kallen. You're smarter than that."

She blinked, and some pink took her cheeks again. She thought for a minute, and then blushed harder, "Oh…yeah, you…probably wouldn't have bothered with this whole thing if I was."

He smirked, "Correct. Additionally, everyone under my Geass experiences complete memory loss of the entire time period they were under its effects." She sat in relief as he made that bit of information known. His smirk turned into a sheepish grin, "And finally… I… kinda can only use it once per person. I questioned you under it yesterday, to find out what your group intended to do with the poison gas. I turned it off and then thought to order you not to mention anything about Shinjuku and discovered that delightful little detail."

Kallen looked outraged, "Bastard! What other orders did you give me?!"

"I confirmed that you were the Glasgow pilot and asked why you were fighting Britannia. I then asked what you were planning on doing with the gas and how you felt about all that had happened. I hope you can understand that I didn't want a bloodthirsty psychopath as a partner, and neither would Milly. That's all Kallen. I swear that on my mother's grave."

Kallen stared hard at him, before she sighed, "Fine. I can understand that." Lelouch's shoulders relaxed, but that was a mistake. Kallen sprang forward and delivered another blistering slap. The redness that had died down was back into sharp relief, "We're good now."

"I'll take it…" Lelouch groaned, holding a hand to his cheek. He wasn't sure if it was because of the previous slap, but he was fairly certain that one hurt more than the wet bathroom slap.

Milly chuckled and walked over to Lelouch, planting a loving his on his cheek. She grinned at Kallen and smirked widely, "So… _now's_ the deal with the devil."

"Witch!" C.C. looked incensed, "I prefer witch!"

"Huh? Now what?" Kallen looked bewildered.

C.C. stood, "Did you forget about me, girlie? Neither of these two have had their Geass for more than a week."

She gasped in realization, "Then you're…?"

"That right." C.C. confirmed, swaying her hips as she sashayed over, "So Miss Kōzuki…would you like to form a contract?"

"Before that…" Lelouch said, "She needs to have more information. Kallen, you should know that it is possible for you to lose control of Geass. C.C. told us of one other who had the ability to read minds with his power. Once he lost control of it, he became unable to _stop_ listening to other's thoughts and went mad. Kallen, this is your choice. Remember that. We won't think any less of you should you refuse."

Kallen sucked her lips between her teeth and worked them slightly. "Give me a few minutes."

"Take all the time you need. I know we've kinda smacked you with a fair bit of information here." Lelouch replied as Milly slid underneath his right arm. He started running his fingers through her silky hair.

The room was silent for a few minutes, before Kallen straightened and regarded C.C. "How is it that you're able to give out these powers?" She asked curiously.

"C.C. is immortal." Lelouch said. Kallen deadpanned at him, "Yes, I'm serious. No, I'm not crazy. We've already shown you our crazy powers so what's so shocking about that?" He pulled up the images he had shown Milly and went through them with Kallen. "You'll probably be even more shocked to know that _she_ was what was really inside that capsule you and your friends stole. Yes, what they were doing to her to try to find out what made her tick was so heinous that _poison gas_ seemed like a reasonable cover story."

"You know what. Fuck it. I'm just not going to think anything is impossible anymore. Maybe then you will stop shocking me." She facepalmed, and then ran her hand down her face, "You're all mad." Kallen groaned, "And now I'm one of you. I'm not going to catch the crazy am I?"

"Yes." All three of the said flatly, "Besides. You decided to try to steal something vital to the military with only a Glasgow held together with duct tape and hatred to defend yourself with. You're already crazy." Lelouch smirked at her.

"Fuck you!" She said succinctly. She walked up to the green-haired girl and let out a wan smirk, "Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, I guess." She didn't notice the anticipatory looks on Lelouch and Milly.

C.C. smirked, "Then all that's left is to seal the deal." And before Kallen had a chance to protest that Milly-esque look, C.C. had claimed her lips too.

The verdette backed away after a moment and went back to the desk, resuming her leg swinging. Kallen looked catatonic, "My…my…" Her gaze sharpened and she sprang forward, "My first kiss! You bitch!" Lelouch had to catch her and hold her back from throttling C.C. "Let me at her!"

"You can't kill her anyway." Lelouch couldn't help but be amused at the whole thing.

"But it'll make me feel better!" Kallen snarled.

"Come on. Cut it out so we can find out what your Geass does. We can plan more then." Milly used her Prez voice.

Kallen finally stopped struggling, "Fine." She glared at C.C., "I _will_ have my revenge!"

"Promises!" C.C. said silkily.

Kallen took a deep breath as Lelouch let her go. Her left eye deepened in blue and strangely, the sigil in her eye was a lighter blue. C.C.'s eyes widened. She had only seen that once before. They waited a moment, only for her Geass to deactivate, "Uhh… did I do anything?"

Lelouch pursed his lips, "C.C., will you be able to negate the effects on one of us if it's something like a command type like my own?"

"As you are my contractors, yes." C.C. said simply, "Be warned that this is _only_ because we are linked. If your Geass were to go awry on anyone else, then I would be unable to do anything about it."

"Alright…Kallen?" The girl turned to him, "Go ahead." Kallen sighed and before determination filled her face. Her eye flashed again. He blinked after a few seconds and raised his arm to scratch his head, "Still noth-?" Only she cut him off with a gasp, "What is it?"

A wide grin lit up Kallen's face, "Attack me!" Lelouch blinked, "What are you waiting for Lelouch?! Come at me!" Lelouch sprang forward, fist flying towards her pretty face. Kallen inclined her head just enough that she felt a breeze on her face as Lelouch's fist passed her. She ducked underneath him and was already moving as he went for a back kick. She dodged around it again and Lelouch paused. Her grin hadn't dimmed in the slightest, "You're moving in slow motion, and I can see every movement you're about to make before you make it."

Lelouch smirked lightly, and flung an unseen kunai at her. He was trained under Sayoko Shinozaki of the Shinozaki School, so that was a kunai thrown at speeds most people wouldn't be able to even follow much less dodge. She caught it by sticking her finger into the ring, making it look like she was flipping him off, "Now that's handy…" He grinned maniacally, "Oh yes, once we get you an actual machine you're going to be a _Goddess._ " Kallen's face flamed red as her Geass winked out of existence.

 **-]|[-**

 **Let's just get this out of the way; Kallen's Geass is not the same as Bismarck's. He outright saw into the future, which makes Suzaku's defeat of him kinda bullshit. Kallen's is more like the Sharingan. She can predict movements and trajectories while – to her – everything appears to be moving in slow motion. As she improves with it she'll also be able to control the rate of the slowdown. Kinda boring – I've seen some form of it before – but it fits her so damn well. She was the "Always Someone Better," to basically everyone else in the series. As some of you will know, I have far more unique ideas for some of the other Geass.**


	3. Turn 03 - Zero

**I really am starting to wish that didn't do away with being able to turn off guest reviews. It really fucking irritates me when I have something to reply back and can't.**

 **I'll keep this small reply short, since I guess I can address it to all of you; just because I asked for Geass suggestions for a fair number of characters DOES NOT MEAN that all of them are getting Geass.**

 **Some of you also enquired about lemons. Writing smut is an entirely different thing from regular writing. If I'm not in the mood for it I'm not going to force it. That'll just end up being subpar writing, and I refuse to do that. At the same time, I'm not about to delay the story just for that. When I get in the mood for smut, I'll write some as inserts to the main story. I'll put them as outtakes up on AO3 – where my username is Primordial_Vortex – and let you guys know when they're posted.**

 **-]|[-**

 **Turn 03 – Zero**

 **-]|[-**

"The council doesn't require much actual work, I guess. Beyond occasional paperwork, we'll sometimes plan school events. We also fix the budget for the clubs." Yesterday had come and gone with some planning and yet more perverted teasing of Kallen. She had finally fled the room practically steaming like a lobster at around 11 when Milly declared that she and Lelouch had a bed to break, and that they were welcome to watch. Funnily enough, C.C. even one-upped her by actually taking the offer and snidely giving them pointers from her perch on his dresser. Now, the new day had dawned and Lelouch had met up with Kallen. They were walking through the clubhouse as he informed her about her new duties as a member of the Student Council.

"I see." She said, "You mean like the cultural festival?"

"Yep…" He hunched over in depression, "And the cross-dressers' ball, along with the absolute silence party." Kallen's eyebrows twitched as he brightened up, "Swimsuit day was awesome though."

She twitched again as that perverted grin spread across his face. "…Why? The hell?" She finally got out.

"Blame Milly. She has the silliest ideas most of the time." She fully expected the perverted grin that followed, "She does strike gold occasionally though."

"Bloody perverts." She groused.

They entered the room where the rest of the council was waiting only for him to hear Nunnally's hysterically miserable voice, "Lelouch, it's awful!"

"What is it?" He asked as he and Kallen picked up the pace and sped into the room. The rest of the council and his sister were crowded around a TV.

"Prince Clovis has been found dead." Milly turned to them with a meaningful look. Kallen gasped and she whipped her head to Lelouch.

' _Oh…right… How the hell did I forget to tell her about that?_ ' He nodded slightly and then jerked his head to the set.

Rivals and Shirley were glued to the screen, "They say he was killed!"

The scene changed to one fitting a press release. A tall man with perfectly coifed blue hair was standing at the podium. The name attached underneath him by the studio was Jeremiah Gottwald. "Prince Clovis has been taken from us. He fought for peace and justice against all of the Elevens.  
He died a martyr. We must all bury our sorrow, and carry on his will!"

The scene was interrupted and this time Lelouch twitched in shock, his eyes going wide. Milly and Kallen both noticed his expression get increasingly shocked and both started to get worried, "We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news! The man suspected as the murderer has been captured! According to this report, the suspect is an Honorary Britannian. Private Suzaku Kururugi, a former Eleven and Honorary Britannian! I repeat, Suzaku Kururugi arrested for murder!"

 **-]|[-**

The room was darkened, with only a few lights leaving them able to see each other. Jeremiah was sitting across from a battered-looking Suzaku holding a gun in a plastic evidence bag. They were surrounded by other Britannians in military outfits, "Do you know anything about this weapon, Suzaku Kururugi? It was the one used to rob Prince Clovis of his life. The barrel striations leave no doubt, and we've done a little homework on you as well. You're the eldest child of Japan's last acting prime minister, are you not? Your motive here is clear."

Suzaku didn't let his treatment affect him, "You're making a mistake. I have never even laid eyes on that gun! Honorary Britannians aren't allowed them!" Just as he finished his statement, one of the guards kicked his chair out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor. He barely held in the grunt of pain.

"We've found your fingerprints all over this weapon. You're also suspected of murdering members of the Royal Guard." Jeremiah sneered, "Come clean now, and you'll be judged as an Honorary Britannian and not some worthless Eleven."

"I didn't do it!" Suzaku told Jeremiah's boots, and ate a pair for his trouble.

 **-]|[-**

Nunnally was in Lelouch's arms, trembling, "Suzaku? Our Suzaku? We haven't seen him since…since the war." She whispered so that Rivalz and Shirley wouldn't hear.

"Looks like he's still alive." Lelouch said, a troubled look on his face. His friends surrounded the two of them.

"It wasn't true what the news said, was it?" Nunnally begged her big brother.

And Lelouch could answer with absolute sincerity, "Of course not. Suzaku do something like that? They're mad. The truth will come out…one way or another." He murmured into her ear. He threw Kallen a meaningful look. She swallowed and nodded imperceptibly. Lelouch stood and put his sister into her chair.

"I'll take Nunna to the gym." Milly said, having caught the look, "No doubt Grandpa will hold an assembly for this. Let's go guys!" She started wheeling Nunnally out, followed by Rivalz, Shirley and Nina.

Lelouch and Kallen took up the rear, though at a far slower pace than them, "Sorry…" He winced when he caught her glare, "With how much we had to go over yesterday… How the hell did I forget to tell you _that_?" He mumbled to himself.

She snorted, "How indeed?" She sighed and took on a serious look, "Did you really…?"

"No…C.C. did. She deserved it after all he did to her. I'll be taking the credit for it though." He told her, "And it's now the perfect time for my debut." He said, "Can you gather your group?"

"Debut?" Her eyes widened.

"That's right…we're going to rescue Kururugi." He said, determination filling his soul.

"Are you crazy?!" She hissed, "How the hell are we going to manage that?!"

"Keep your voice down." He admonished, "And don't forget our secret weapons. I have a plan. Their intent to parade Kururugi around to incite a Britannian hate-frenzy tells me a lot about their motivations and their characters." He grinned viciously, "They're going to regret that."

…

They were all now lined up in the gymnasium, which had a gigantic screen at one end of the room. Milly's grandfather was speaking at a podium before the student body, "Truly this is bitterly painful incident for all! The viceroy of Area 11, our beloved prince Clovis has been lost to us forever. However, we can and will bear the weight of this tragedy, and from this darkest of hours draw strength."

 **-]|[-**

Tamaki's rough voice roared in the air, "That's why we should've issued a freaking statement sooner! We could have taken credit for it!"

Oghi sighed, ' _Why me?..._ ' He turned to the man who was stomping away furiously, "Take credit for what? The assassination we knew nothing about?!" he yelled at the retreating man's back, "Naoto…I'm just not cut out for this. I'm no leader…" He groaned as the door slammed.

 **-]|[-**

Lelouch met up with one of his regular noble lures. The old man was a master tailor and costume maker; one of the best in the business. He was also a hopeless fool when it came to gambling, and regularly got himself into trouble which Lelouch bailed him out of. They had long ago begun a partially symbiotic relationship that had made Lelouch quite a fortune. But for now, that wasn't why he was here. The old man's glowing red eyes showed why he was here, "Yes, everything is just as you requested. We have the best in the business working on it. Once the slide system is in order, it's all yours. Once I've erased all of the evidence I should forget this ever happened, right?"

"That's right." Lelouch said, "I'll be back to pick it all up later. I have much more work to do today…"

 **-]|[-**

Lloyd sounded despondent as he stared at his repaired Lancelot, "We've lost our most essential part…" He grumbled.

Cecile really wished she wouldn't refer to Suzaku as a _part_ , "Can't we do it without him?" She pushed past her irritation, no matter how much she wished they could do something about it.

"I wish. Neither love nor money will get us a replacement pilot good enough. The other units never let them go." He sighed lackadaisically, "Besides…even if we could, they wouldn't match his readings. He got an operating efficiency of 94 percent! How do we replace _that_?!"

Cecile leapt on it, "Then _tell_ them that! We have to get them to let Suzaku go! We both know he didn't do it!"

"They threw away my testimony." Lloyd sighed, "The purebloods are in charge now, with General Bartley being disgraced. They'd never let an Honorary Britannian go. According to them, it's impossible for the culprit to be from the military. But if the criminal is an Eleven, it paves the way for Margrave Jeremiah to shut down the practice of granting natives Honorary status."

"But then what about Suzaku!" Cecile pleaded.

"They'll find him guilty." Lloyd said in annoyance, "Guilty, guilty, guilty. They'll put him through a kangaroo court they own and put him to death."

"But!"

"Say, would that be altruism or humanitarianism?"

"You're playing word games at a time like this?!"

Lloyd shrugged and grinned sadly, "Is there anything else can I do? You know where this case is headed the same as me."

 **-]|[-**

In another part of the Settlement, another group was discussing the same thing. Shirley was listening to Lelouch's somewhat scathing description of the Purebloods attentively. "I see…"

Rivalz came up on Lelouch and clapped him on the shoulder, "Lelouch, what are you up to later? We have the day off and it would be such a waste to just sit around! Some of our opponents have been asking for a rematch."

"Don't you dare go gambling!" Shirley wagged her finger at them.

"Give me a break Shirley…" Rivalz groaned.

"No, she's right. I have other things to do right now. I found a much better opponent." Lelouch said, looking through his phone and sending Kallen a text.

"Really?" Rivalz gasped, "You gotta let me in, old buddy!"

Lelouch chuckled at the thought of bringing Rivalz to a battlefield, "Sorry bud, it's not your type of game." And with that, he walked off, leaving both his friends staring at his back in surprise.

…

"Nice car." Kallen grinned as she flicked on a pair of sunglasses to match Lelouch. She got into the passenger seat and marveled at the interior.

"Nice car." He grumbled, "Only seventy-seven ever made and she calls it a nice car."

Kallen's eyes widened, "Really? What is it? Was that safe? Wouldn't they have your name?"

Lelouch smirked, "Remember we have a ninja. The noble I won it from probably fled as far around the world as possible. Didn't do him any good. He knows silence is golden now. It's an Aston Martin ONE-77. This car is the only reason I bothered getting my license. Thankfully Lamperouge – while not exactly uncommon – isn't the rarest last name out there. Nunnally and I were _far_ out of the public view back in Pendragon. Most people wouldn't be able to recognize either of us on sight, and all of the ones who could would have no interest in working in the DMV. I don't usually get to drive it unfortunately. Rivalz almost creamed himself last time I let him ride shotgun so we usually just take his moped. Usually I end up just taking the DB11 out instead."

Kallen grinned, "You going to let me take it for a spin?"

A snort was her only response. "Maybe the other one if you're a good girl." She flipped him off, "Anyway, Milly and C.C. are going to meet us there soon. I have to get you fitted out."

She turned wary eyes to him, "Fitted out for what?" She asked suspiciously, "You're not going to do something perverted again are you?"

"Maybe later." Lelouch shot back with a smirk, "We're going to get you a set of blades and I'll need your measurements. Eventually our group will have a regular uniform and a battle outfit as well. So, we're going to our secret facility."

"If you try to put me in some kind of chainmail bikini I swear to-" All thoughts of future pain visited on her partner fled her mind as they hit a stretch of road where he could go as fast as he liked. Kallen whooped in exhilaration as the V12 engine roared.

 **-]|[-**

"Holy shit!" Kallen exclaimed. Her jaw was slightly unhinged as she took in the sight, "How the hell did you all set this up?"

"My mother funded it before…" He trailed off, and was surprised to feel her hand on his arm. He offered her a light smile, "…It was nearing completion by then. The Ashfords had always been our allies. Ruben let the facility go dark up until Milly and I reactivated it."

"There are so many Japanese here!" Her eyes were shining in joy.

"That's right. We saved most of these people from their circumstances. Death… starvation… ridicule… You name it. These were some of the brightest minds in Japan, and now they're our brightest minds. One day, they'll be free to show it." Lelouch smiled as he led Kallen to the second basement floor and through a set of double doors, "How are you doing, Shizuka-san?"

"Lelouch-sama!" The dark-haired woman started in surprise, "I didn't expect to see you again so soon. The mechanism hasn't broken has it?"

Lelouch grinned, "Not at all. The blades are working fine. Kallen here needs to be fitted with a set herself."

"Of course!" The woman bowed, "Kallen-sama, please sit." She gestured to the chair in front of the desk, "Do you have any preferences?"

"I have no idea what to say." Kallen said sheepishly, "Are those retractable blades like the one Lelouch carries the only kind?"

"No, we have another design as well. Lelouch-sama and Milly-sama gave us a fairly big budget when we were designing them. They have to be made with extreme precision, after all." Shizuka told her, "We can also have the blades deploy into your hands. They're more of a hassle to re-hide though. You have to do it manually."

"I'll take that type then." Kallen declared, "I think I'll be able to maneuver better like that."

"Of course!" Shizuka smiled, "Do you prefer a straight blade or a slightly curved one?"

"Curved." Kallen smiled, "Definitely curved."

"Excellent." Shizuka took a few notes down, "Colors?"

"Don't really care." Kallen shrugged. She preferred form to function in most things.

"Crimson then." Lelouch smirked, "Anyway, I need another set made for myself, Shizuka."

"I though you said they were working fine?" Shizuka was bewildered at the request.

"They are. I'll be keeping them for civilian use." Lelouch said, "I need the new set colored black with purple and gold."

"Of course. They'll be finished within the week."

"I'll need mine faster than that. Make one of them my regular colors and I'll just have this one redone until then. Now, time to go get you measured Kallen. Have a wonderful day, Shizuka-san."

Kallen bowed to the woman, "Sayonara, Shizuka-san." She followed Lelouch out the door, where Milly and C.C. were waiting. "You two got here quick."

C.C. had a gleeful look to her, "Milly owns a Rolls Royce Wraith and she let me drive."

"Never again!" Milly said, a wild look to her, "She's worse than you!" She pointed at Lelouch accusingly. Lelouch burst out laughing.

Kallen pouted, "Lelouch won't let me drive his." She shook herself and grinned viciously, "Now…where are these machines I've heard so much about?"

Lelouch sighed, "We can show you… but unfortunately, the white Knightmare we faced far outclassed anything we've been able to come up with. Thankfully, I was able to acquire the two pieces we managed to blow off of it. We have R and D working on reverse-engineering it as well as analyzing the Sutherland I managed to steal. I also managed to get piloting data for the regular army as well as some of the schematics for the Seventh Gen before we killed Clovis. It'll probably be a few weeks before we have something proper to test. At the very least, we need regular units that are better than Sutherlands. Most likely we'll have to deal with Gloucesters from now on, and they'll cut apart Glasgow knockoffs. Before the battle, we only had the Third Generation Ganymede to base the designs on, so they're not that great."

Kallen looked like he had punched her cat, "You can't tease a girl like that Lelouch." C.C. and Milly chuckled lightly.

 **-]|[-**

Kallen had led her comrades to the old Tokyo Tower. They had been told to not follow too closely, since obviously she couldn't be associated with them. Kallen was growing increasingly irritated with the announcer, "Britannia's resounding victory over Japan opened the unenlightened nation's eyes to its true place in today's world order. Since then the empire and Area 11 have walked hand in hand down the road to revival."

She held back a snort, ' _Unenlightened my ass. We weren't a fucking third world country, you sons of bitches._ '

" **Attention please. Paging Miss Kallen Stadtfeld, Ashford Academy.  
One of your personal effects has been turned in at the kiosk on the observation deck.  
I repeat.**"

' _Here we go._ ' Kallen mused as she went to the front desk, "Thank you mam." She took the phone from the receptionist and walked up to the observation deck, where she knew her crew would be waiting. After a few seconds, the phone started buzzing. She raised an eyebrow at the name that popped up, ' _Why Zero?_ ' She wondered, "Hello?"

"You know what to do, _Goddess_." Lelouch's teasing tone came through the phone. She twitched.

 **-]|[-**

"Prince Clovis' Memorial was handled quite well. Well done." Jeremiah congratulated the pony-tailed blonde, "A bit weepy for my tastes, but…"

"The masses love a good tearjerker, your excellency." Diethard responded obediently.

"Spoken like a true TV-man. Still I have to acknowledge the finesse you've shown. You did well in the short time you had. One would almost think you were expecting His Highness to meet his untimely end." Jeremiah rested his cheek on his fist as he said this.

Diethard had to hold back a scoff, "It's quite common for memorial programs to be set in advance for important people."

"Oh?" Jeremiah raised an eyebrow, "Does that include myself?"

"Recent event may have bumped you up the list a bit your excellency." He had to hold his smirk back, but Jeremiah's face didn't change.

"Meaning I wasn't important enough to rate one until now. How honest of you." He almost chuckled, "Ever think of enlisting? I have a need for good information officers."

"I'm afraid that job is not for me. Not my cup of tea."

"You prefer the civil sector I take it? No matter, I have another favor to ask of you. Tomorrow night Suzaku Kururugi will be transferred to his court-martial." Jeremiah said, and was pleased with the response.

"Then the streets must be lined with Patriotic Britannians."

"Excellent. You catch on quickly. Make sure they can see his face." He held back a victorious grin, "I'll be there personally aboard my Sutherland. If anyone even thinks of causing trouble, they will be executed on the spot."

 **-]|[-**

When Kallen and her cohorts entered the train, she immediately realized that every single person in there previously had already fallen under Lelouch's Geass. She could see the red rings that surrounded their eyes, though it became clear that no one else could. Or at least none of her friends mentioned a thing. Was that because he had used it on her already or because she had her own? The train took off, and Kallen waited for Lelouch to call again. "Hello?"

"Face forward and look to your right. What do you see?" His voice came through, though this time it sounded darker. More synthesized.

"I see the Britannian city. The one built over the ashes of our homes. It was stolen away from us and built on our sacrifices." Really, did Lelouch have to be such a ham?

"And on the left?" He asked again.

"Our city…what was left to us. The remnants of our desiccated city after the Britannian sucked it dry." Her light irritation must have been apparent to him.

"Sorry, but for now you need to play along." He sounded apologetic as he hung up. She already knew what to do.

She sighed and led her friends through the train after catching their attention. Not a single person even flinched as they were bumped into or pushed lightly out of the way. His power truly was terrifying. When she opened the door, she just barely managed to turn her snort into a gasp. Oh, he was a ham alright. "Was it you?" She asked for her friend's benefit. To them, a single man was standing at the opposite end of the train. They couldn't make out his features, because a black cape cloaked him as if he was wrapped in darkness. There was a golden sigil on the back of it. Kallen recognized it as the Geass sigil with a sword going through the middle of it and some added spikes to the crane.

Lelouch didn't answer, "Hey! Answer us!" Toru Yoshida yelled angrily, after another attempt at getting his attention failed.

Lelouch whirled around and faced them, just as the train went into the tunnel and the room went dark. Kallen's eyebrow twitched, ' _Okay, so he's a ham…but he's a fucking_ _ **impressive**_ _ham. That timing…_ '

Lelouch was wearing a royal purple suit with long, wrapped sleeves that wrapped around him like a glove…almost like it was a bodysuit. There was a white ascot around his neck. The embroidery – from the suit down to the matching shoes – was the purest gold. The matching black cape he wore had a royal purple liner on the inside and it wrapped perfectly around him and formed spikes framing his head. His head was covered with a mask they couldn't possibly know would soon become iconic. It was a spiky, black and indigo contraption that engulfed his entire head. A golden Geass sigil was stretched on the bottom and in the center was an opaque piece of glass or some other material. "So…what did you think of my tour of the settlement?"

Tamaki growled, "This was a fucking waste of time. There's no way it was this joker."

"I wished for you to have a true appreciation of them…" He held up his left arm to their right, "The settlement…" his left spread the cape open revealing the full outfit, "And the ghetto."

' _He's a showman…_ ' Kallen mused silently, ' _But he's a_ _ **good**_ _showman. He probably could have been an actor._ ' She begrudgingly admitted.

"Yeah…we know it." Oghi said, "There's a difference between us and them. A desperate difference! That's why we resist them."

"Resist?" The masked man seemed to be surprised, "And you think resistance will do something do you?"

"What was that?!" Tamaki roared, instantly furious. The man did true justice to the stereotype about the temper of redheads.

Lelouch was unconcerned, "Your resistance is nothing more than a passing irritation to the Britannians you truly despise. To the nobility and the military, you are nothing more than bugs to be squashed." He sounded almost amused, "To the civilians, you look like nothing more than idiots refusing their Empire's hand at best and barbarians at worst. Most of them do not understand the way you suffer. So all your acts of terrorism succeed in doing is igniting a patriotic frenzy in them."

Kallen had to hold back her irritation. They had discussed more than enough for her to know he was right. Tamaki had no such luck, "Why you cocky son of a bitch!" He rushed forward, fist raised and ready to pummel the arrogant bastard talking down to them.

"Tamaki no!" Oghi and Kallen both yelled – for different reasons – but they were ignored.

"Take this!" The redheaded idiot put all of his weight into the punch, looking to break that stupid mask and his face in one hit. Lelouch casually stepped out of the way and he punched the wall instead, "Argh!" He cried, cradling his injured hand.

"I hope you shoot better than you fight." Lelouch commented blandly, and Kallen had to bite her lip to keep from grinning. He ducked under a wild kick and slapped the man in the back of the head as the train made a turn. Tamaki's momentum with the train carried over and flipped over and landed in one of the empty seats with his legs in the air. His face was almost touching his crotch. "Stay down." Lelouch flicked his arm and the point of his shiny new black blade extended. The point stopped right before Tamaki's eye, who almost relieved himself then and there.

"Tamaki you idiot!" Oghi roared furiously, "Do you think before you act?! I knew bringing you was a mistake!" Lelouch retracted the blade as Oghi apologized profusely for the idiot's actions. The redhead was still cradling his arm as he performed the walk of shame back to his comrades.

"Sit down and shut the fuck up!" Kallen hissed and shoved him into a chair. "Sorry." She bowed lightly to Lelouch, more for their benefit than for hers'.

"Water under the bridge. We have more important things to discuss." Lelouch told her. He stared at them for a moment, "Your cell was better than most I've seen. You could follow orders well and to my delight you at least tried your hardest to limit civilian casualties. That put you several squares above the rest. That is why I made the decision to approach you."

Oghi sighed and murmured a thank you, "We never approved of harming innocent people. Too much blood has already been spilt to add non-combatants to it." He glared lightly at the man after saying his piece, "But are you saying you think our resistance is pointless? What are we supposed to do then? Just let them win?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying." Lelouch said blandly in response to the first question, "Terrorism isn't going to do a thing. It won't get you your name and home back. All terrorism does is make Britannians – younger Britannians especially – who would otherwise have been sympathetic to you despise you. What would you have done if your episode with the Poison Gas had gotten half of the Settlement killed because of a stray bullet?" The entire cell cringed.

"It was never supposed to go like that." Lelouch didn't miss the glare Oghi shot at the redhead, who flinched hard, "We were supposed to be long gone by the time they realized something was wrong."

"You should never count on plans surviving contact with the enemy. The point stands." Lelouch didn't let off the gas.

Yoshida growled, "Where do you get off?! Are we supposed to just roll over for them? We dream of a Japan free from Britannia!"

"A Japan free from Britannia?" He asked acerbically, "I wasn't aware I was dealing with necromancers. Perhaps I should go elsewhere."

"What was that?" Naomi Inoue – a purple haired woman – spat out furiously.

"You think Japan is dead?" Tamaki growled heatedly from his corner, looking like he was going to get up and charge again.

"I thought I told you not to speak again." Kallen turned an evil glare at her fellow redhead, despite the fact that even her ire had risen. He flinched and settled down again, settling for glaring at the masked man.

"Explain yourself!" Oghi commanded.

"When was the last Tatara fired up?" Lelouch shot at him, "The last chunks Tamahagane made?" Oghi flinched, "When was the last time you had a tea ceremony? The last time there was a Coming of Age Ceremony? The last time people flooded the shopping districts in kimono?" As he had gone on, it was as if a weight had settled on their shoulders with every point made. "When was a last time you taught a bright-eyed child Japanese in a classroom?"

"Stop it…" Naomi mumbled, her eyes filling with tears.

"Your people have been beaten down. You've had your pride crushed. Your lives destroyed. You even had your names stripped away. Your government was eradicated and all that are left are former military leaders and the richest of the rich, who have had to throw away their pride just to survive."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Kento Sugiyama roared, though this time Kallen and Oghi were both quick enough to hold him back, "Let me go!"

Lelouch suddenly just sounded exhausted, "Your common people are doped up on Refrain." There was a hiss in the room as the name of that hated drug was said, "And even if they weren't your numbers were decimated. Your youngest barely even know what Japan _is_."

Kallen was just as angry despite having been through this whole discussion once already, "So what?!" She snarled, "You think we should just give up?!"

"Oh heavens no." He looked all the world as if he was shocked by the suggestion, "What I'm saying is that there is no _freeing_ Japan." The group had settled down, though they were still glaring at him, "You all have just lost too much. Like it or not, the Japan you remember is dead and there's no bringing it back. Even if you manage to get rid of Britannia, you're starting from scratch. So much culture lost… so many traditions…" He said, "And it'll be a _long, long time_ before your people recover. _If_ you don't just get yourself reconquered by Britannia or pecked at by those Chinese vultures of course."

Several of them were grinding their teeth, but realized the man was right, "So what are you suggesting?"

"What I'm saying…" Lelouch said patiently, "Is that the only way this is going to end is if you cut off the head of the snake. Terrorism will do nothing but force the common people to hate you and turn public opinion against you. Not every Britannian is a horrible person. Most of them just know nothing but the propaganda they're fed from birth. And I'm sure even the Japanese are getting tired of it. How many of your own people cursed your names after Shinjuku?" He asked rhetorically, taking note of all the flinches. Having Kallen on his side from the beginning had been an excellent decision for many reasons, and this was one of them. "You have to know your enemy. It is not the people of Britannia or even Britannia itself. It is the nobility… the fat and lazy parasites who have done nothing to earn what they have. It is the corruption that plagues it. It is the attitude of superiority and arrogance that pervades it. And I could go on and on, but at the head of it all is _that_ man. The one fueling all the hate, by shouting out that, ' _All men are not created equal._ ' If you want to one day be able to proudly call yourselves Japanese once more without fear of reprisal, then it is a war you must wage. But not on the innocent. You have to take up your swords and fight for justice!"

She saw that her friends were looking uncertain, so she still had a role to play, "Don't be absurd! That's all easy enough to say, isn't it? As if we could trust someone who won't even show us his face!"

Yoshida jumped on that, "She's right! Lose the mask!"

There was silence for a moment, and Oghi spoke up, "Yeah…will you show us your face or not?"

"Very well." Lelouch said, "But it won't be my face I show you, but rather my power." He was smirking behind that opaque panel, Kallen knew, "If I make the impossible possible, then might I have earned your trust?"

 **-]|[-**

"He killed the Britannian Prince!" One of the voices in the room said. Most in the room were together next to a flag of Japan.

"Yeah, but he's an Honorary Britannian!" Another of the men in uniform roared back.

"His father was Prime Minister Kururugi!"

"Yeah," The sneer was practically audible, "The same man who gave up Japan. The people don't know _that_ do they?"

The general of the Japan Liberation Front – Tatewaki Katase – asked, "The Shinjuku affair was performed by the Kōzuki group, was it not?" He was an older fellow sitting with his arms and legs crossed.

In front of him on one knee was a much younger man with black hair slicked back which flared out near his neck. He also had a black goatee. He was Lieutenant Colonel Josui Kusakabe, "That's right. Currently they're led by a man named Oghi."

Katase sighed and inclined his head down, before looking back at Kusakabe, "Has Kururugi's family said anything?"

"No, sir. They broke contact with him once he joined the military." The Lieutenant Colonel told him.

Katase turned to the one man who wasn't discussing with the rest of the group. He was sitting seiza with a sheathed katana next to him, "Your thoughts, Tōdō?"

Tōdō was a tall man with a serious air to him. He wore a fancier version of the dark green uniform most of the others wore. He was starting to lose hair near his temples, "We have no duty to join him in a public execution."

"Such cowardice!" Kusakabe spat, "Are you really Tōdō the miracle worker?"

Tōdō was unfazed, "You shouldn't confuse miracles with idiocy. Even if we go, they'll just kill him ahead of time. Nothing will be gained and too much could be lost."

 **-]|[-**

"Congratulations!" Lloyd told his devicer cheerfully, "Those two you asked me about weren't on the list of casualties."

"That's good to hear." Suzaku let out a sigh of relief. He had bruises all over him and his arms were lashed to him by his strait jacket. Even while inside this glass prison he was still being treated poorly. He hadn't eaten much in the past couple of days either.

Lloyd sighed, "Not much luck on your end though." The man was pouting, "You may be getting a trial but nobody is on your side."

Suzaku looked surprised, "But…trials are where the truth comes to light!"

Lloyd let out a despondent chuckle, "I expect there'll be more smoke and mirrors than anything. The truth is scarce of late. Anyone with a brain knows you aren't to blame…and that includes your accusers."

Suzaku's face hardened with determination, "If you tell me that's just how the world works… then so be it. I have no regrets."

 **-]|[-**

Day had gone and night had come. The streets leading to the Palace were empty of vehicles, but not of people. Oh no, there were scores of people lining up on both sides of the road, including the bridges. There were drones with cameras providing video to every set in the world. At Ashford, Milly was watching the event with a stone face. Inwardly, she was begging, ' _Lulu…Kallen…please be safe!_ ' The rest of the Student Council sat watching the set with much less trepidation than her. In a darkened room in the clubhouse, Nunnally sat with Sayoko out of sight, holding a radio in her tiny hands.

"Any moment. Any moment now." The announcer said with bated breath, "Just look at the crowds lining this route! All of them waiting! Waiting for the man accused of killing our beloved Prince Clovis! Waiting for Honorary Britannian Suzaku Kururugi to pass by!"

On the side of the road, was a HiTV van. Diethard was inside of it with his crew, growling out orders, "Camera 5 is a little slow. Talk to me, Charles. Have you got your crowd set up?" He waited for a moment, before growing irritated, "What? The studio? Let them wait! There is no delay. Everything is going according to plan. Here he comes…"

"I… I can see it! They have the suspect! Suzaku Kururugi is headed this way!" The announcer yelled as the crowd started clamoring for blood. Knightmares surrounding an open-back military vehicle were heading their way. The noise level started increasing tremendously.

"There, you see?" Diethard clicked his mic off and then let out a little scoff, "What a circus this has turned out to be. I'm just as corrupt as any of them."

Outside, the people were roaring, "MURDERER! SCUM! YOU DAMNED ELEVEN! WE WANT OUR PRINCE BACK!" The voices – male and female – were yelling. Suzaku had a sad look in his eyes as people jeered at him. He didn't do it damn it!

The announcer – who had been silent letting some of the yells be heard – came on again, "Voices of resentment! Voices of anger! All of it growing louder! Voices bearing testament to a people's love of their Prince! Righteous voices judging the terrorist!" The Sutherlands had come much closer now and they started crossing the bridge, "Margrave Jeremiah – who was integral in settling this case – will be presiding over the trial as Acting Viceroy."

Suddenly, Jeremiah's radio clicked on with a bit of static and a soldier's voice came on, "Acting Viceroy Jeremiah. There is a vehicle approaching the main highway from Third Street. We just let it through as you instructed but..."

"Do you think your target is a terrorist vehicle?" Jeremiah turned on his radio and asked. He was wearing an incredibly fancy-looking outfit put together meticulously by the tailors. He looked immaculate, just as he wished for this appearance.

"Well…sir… it's Prince Clovis' car."

"What? The prince's car?" He chuckled, "Well looks like we've got a comedian. Don't worry about it. Just let them through to us." He put his arm up and signaled for a stop. "All forces hold here!"

The announcer got on the mic again, "There was no scheduled stop here. Could there have been some sort of accident?" They then patched a different person onto the mic, "This is site 5. There is a vehicle approaching them! It's… it's Prince Clovis' personal transport! And it's heading straight for them!" A very fancy-looking white car was on the way, with the Britannian flag proudly displayed on the trailer. Kallen was in a chauffer's outfit in the driver's seat. Despite the knowledge of Lelouch's power as well as her own, she was still sweating heavily. So many things had to go right here for them to pull this off and she was very afraid that there was no possible way Lelouch could have predicted _everything_.

The car rolled to a stop in front of Jeremiah's leading Sutherland, and the man roared, "You dare desecrate His Highness's transport? Come out of there!"

Gasps erupted as the flag ignited near the bottom and almost instantly burned to cinders. Behind it was a man wearing an outfit that would soon come to be iconic. He was sitting on a throne with his legs crossed regally and most of his fingers crossed over a knee as well, "I am… ZERO!"

Well if one wanted to send a message, that certainly was a way to do it. The crowd erupted in noise as they all started asking each other what was going on. All cameras were panning over his form as the announcer began shouting in a panicky voice, "Wh-who is this person? This man calling himself Zero, standing before a full military convoy!" All around Japan… All around the world… people were watching and taking note. "Could he be a terrorist?! If he is… what a foolish move to make! He's trapped here now!"

Kallen started to sweat a bit heavier as Jeremiah shouted out, "Had enough, Zero?! Your little show is at an end!" He shot his gun into the air and the Airlift Copters disengaged from their cargo, sending four more Sutherland units plummeting to the ground. They crashed to all four sides of the fake vehicle and surrounded it. Kallen bit back a gasp and forced herself to try to remain calm. Even her Geass couldn't get them out of this! Jeremiah sneered viciously, "First things first… Why don't you lose that mask?"

Zero unclasped his fingers and raised his right hand to his mask, giving it a feather-light touch. He looked like he would indeed be removing it but instead, he raised his hand in front of his mask and snapped his fingers. Just once. Kallen had her cue, and she pulled a lever on the console. With the sound of pistons actuating, the panels making up the car's fake facade blew apart and clattered to the pavement. Behind Zero was an immediately uncomfortable sight for every military man on the highway. The dark-red, bulbous, teardrop shaped poison gas container sat right behind him. Pipes and pressure gauges were coming out of it and it was clear from where the arrows sat that the device was primed. Only it had been modified from the last time it had been seen. A bank of large monitors had been welded to a steel frame sitting snugly around the device, pointing towards the crowds. There were also large sound bars to ensure everything Zero needed to be heard would be.

Lelouch smirked behind his mask as Jeremiah and the rest of the Purebloods paled to the color of curdled milk, ' _Yes, Jeremiah… You never saw inside of this thing, so you assume it's full of poison. You could have evaded this all if you hadn't allowed us to come close. You were so sure you would be able to advance your goals with this circus. Your arrogance will be your downfall here._ '

"Can all of you watching at home see this? It's some sort of device, although its purpose is unclear. Stay with us and we'll see if this so-called terrorist has anything to say!" The announcer roared.

"You bastard!" Jeremiah seethed in panic, ' _He's taken every single Britannian here hostage and not one of them even knows it! How did he find it?!_ ' He resisted the urge to grip his hair.

"You intend to shoot? I think you know full well what will happen if you do." Lelouch couldn't help but taunt the man, "You should also know that I'm wearing a DMS, as is my driver. I wouldn't risk anything if I were you."

Jeremiah grit his teeth, ' _DMS? What's he tal- FUCK. Dead man's switch. He has us trapped. Damn it all! My own hubris has doomed us! I have to figure something out here! I have to stall!_ ' He ground his jaw so hard he was risking his teeth shattering inside his mouth, "Fine. What are your demands?"

"Simple, my good man." Zero mocked his opponent, "An exchange. I give you this, in return for Kururugi."

"Preposterous!" A vein bulged dangerously on Jeremiah's forehead, and all thoughts of finding a way out of this fled from his head, "He's charged with High Treason! I can't simply hand over the man responsible for our beloved Prince's death!"

On the side of the road, Diethard had cussed out a camera operator who wouldn't do his damn job. He had to go out with a shoulder-held camera himself because of these damn amateurs. He started filming just in time to catch Zero releasing a dark laugh, "You think me a fool, Jeremiah?" Diethard's eyes widened in excitement, "Evidently you're starting to believe your own lies." The crowd started to murmur as Jeremiah stiffened, "To those uninformed, allow me to enlighten you. Honorary Britannians _aren't allowed guns_. So unless you are admitting that your security is so lax that you allowed him to get a weapon AND get in the Mobile Base completely unscathed, then there is no way for Kururugi to have done the deed." The _patriotic_ crowd started to look at one another in shock as they remembered _that_ little detail.

' _This is all a show to him!_ ' Diethard was practically salivating.

"You bastard!" Jeremiah choked out. There was no recovering from this. Not politically at least. He held out a trembling pistol and tried to aim for Zero, but his aim was as poor as his judgement.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Zero wagged a finger derisively, "Your aim looks a little shaky Jeremiah. I wouldn't risk it. You might hit this little container behind me." The gun's trembling increased, "But back to the matter at hand, no? I will exchange this container for Kururugi, who is innocent of the crime you've accused him of." He smirked behind his mask, "If it's all the same to you, Margrave, I prefer that other not take credit for my own deeds."

The crowd silenced immediately as Jeremiah started sweating buckets, ' _He can't mean...!_ ' Was the general thought running through everyone there.

' _Shit!_ ' Kallen cried in her head, ' _Damn it Lelouch! What the fuck are you doing!_ ' This was too much. Jeremiah looked as if he might snap at this rate and just end it.

Zero chuckled darkly, "That's right…Acting Viceroy… The one who killed Clovis… WAS MYSELF!" Pandemonium erupted as several people started screaming.

' _Then if I can capture you… but how?! That damn dead man's switch! He probably has a trigger too!_ ' Jeremiah was going over scenario after scenario and coming up with only failure.

Lelouch chuckled and he had an evil smile on his face, "Indeed, it was I who punished Clovis. Perhaps… perhaps the people deserve to know the true face of their beloved Prince! The man who _begged_ for his life! _Begged_. Like a dog!" With those words transmitted to every station, dormant Geass commands he'd layered earlier in the previous days activated, preventing any from shutting off the broadcast. The _whole world_ was about to see this. Every station started playing the same video as the screens which suddenly crackled to life beside the gas container.

 _The video that began playing was of Bartley in the G1 yelling at the Royal Guard, "They got away?! And you call yourselves the Royal Guard?!"_

" _Forgive me, my lord! The blast was mainly directed upwards, but the-"Came the voice of the man Lelouch had personally killed._

" _Why the hell do you think I only told you people about this?!" Bartley was practically spitting. His eyes were bulging in panic._

" _W- We'll continue the investigation!"_

 _The camera panned over to Clovis as he spoke. He had his fist under his chin, "The plan has moved forward to the next phase."_

 _Bartley whirled around in surprise, "But, but Your Highness...!"_

" _If knowledge of her gets out I'll be disinherited! Tell them back home we're carrying out a planned urban renewal here. As Clovis, Third Prince of the Empire, I command you!_ _ **Destroy Shinjuku Ghetto! Leave no one alive!**_ _" The Prince stood and yelled out, his powerful voice ringing clear._

Villetta, Jeremiah and Kewell stared at the screen in horror. This… this was… They were finished. The people would no doubt be horrified and the Numbers would have their fighting spirit reignited. There was no stopping it either. Those panels were too close to the container to try shooting at them. Jeremiah's mind was flying, trying desperately and failing to think of a way to stop this. But all of those thoughts blanked out as new images started playing.

Immediately, shouts of disbelief started ringing out from the crowd and across Area 11 and even in parts of Europe, a frenzy erupted amongst the Japanese resistance groups. But that uproar was nothing compared to the uproar that came as the scenes changed to recordings of the soldiers _slaughtering_ innocent Japanese people. Men and women – old and young – were shot without remorse. The sounds of panic and despair spewed from the screens. Even the most patriotic of Britannians near the roadside couldn't help but retch as panicked crying from children who couldn't even have been _one_ yet were silenced by the roar of bullets. And _all of it_ was from the perspectives of Britannian soldiers and Knightmares.

Several people had started to sob uncontrollably in horror as yet another defenseless child was shot dead on camera. Lelouch had made sure that those scenes would be caught as well. A smaller video was put at a bottom corner of the main video showing proud Britannians spewing their guts out in the crowd and looking altogether flabbergasted and horrified. The pallid faces and tears streaming from several horrified eyes were also powerful images. It had been absolute hell getting so many studio people under his Geass to ensure this broadcast would stay live, but it would be well worth it. At the same time as he would be showing the Britannians the true face of their Empire, he would be showing the Japanese that not every Britannian was pure evil.

"Hoh, it appears not every Britannian agrees our dear Prince's actions…" Lelouch – ever the showman – waved his arm towards the crowd to his left just as a pale and trembling but smirking Diethard focused on him. Lelouch tapped his heel on the hood of the car and Kallen began advancing, completely shocked that they were still alive. Jeremiah had a dead look in his eye as the truck came closer, "So Acting Viceroy…what will it be? Shall I tell the public about _Orange_? If you don't agree or I die, it'll _all_ go public!" The wary crowds erupted again and even the soldiers were looking at each other in bewilderment and questioning one another.

"What?" Jeremiah finally shook himself, but in incomprehension rather than the relief he had hoped for. The truck stopped again and Zero finally stood.

Lelouch grinned as a special panel on his mask slid open and showed off his left eye, "If you don't want that to happen… **Then you'll do everything in your power to let us AND your prisoner go!** " It started glowing that demonic red as the crane appeared inside of his iris.

Jeremiah stiffened as the red rings appeared around his eyes as well, "Let them go…" The crowd gasped, "You there! Release the prisoner!"

Villetta Nu choked and yelled out, "Jeremiah! What did you just say?!" She was still thinking of a way to salvage this, denying the truth she already knew. They were finished.

"Give them the prisoner!" He roared back, "No one is to interfere!"

Kallen had gasped and started to stare in disbelief. Even knowing about Lelouch's Geass and the plan, she hadn't _honestly_ believed things would have gone _this_ perfectly. They had actually pulled this off?! ' _No!_ ' She shook her head, ' _We're not out of the woods yet. Don't relax Kallen!_ '

Kewell Soresi rolled his Sutherland closer, "Jeremiah! What are you doing?!"

Jeremiah turned and roared, "This is an Order, Lord Kewell!"

Suzaku was released and began walking forward towards Zero, who had jumped off the truck and walked towards him. Kallen was close behind with her head down, trying to make sure she wasn't recognized if she happened to be caught on camera. To aid in this, she was wearing a black wig with curly, butt-length hair and green contact lenses with some strange designs on them. She had put a regular sick-mask over her face to further obscure her features right before disembarking from the truck. Suzaku reached them and immediately tried speaking, "Who the hell are-" His collar electrified and shocked him to silence.

Lelouch clicked his tongue behind his mask in irritation, "So they didn't even allow you to speak. How entirely pedestrian."

Kallen spoke up, deepening her voice a bit, "Time to go, Zero." She honestly wanted to give the man a hug at this point. This was crazy and he pulled it off! Way off to the side, a very, _very_ old Knightmare Frame that didn't even have weapons was transforming from a hidden drivetrain for the train into its full Knightmare form. It was primed and ready with a cheering Oghi inside of it.

Villetta cursed and entered her Knightmare, "If they get away we're finished!"

Lelouch smirked, "Well, time to go." He pulled out a detonator and clicked the button. The gas container started spewing a toxic-looking but truly harmless purple haze. The crowd started to panic and try to run as Zero wrapped Suzaku in his cloak and the three of them jumped from the bridge. Oghi fired the tarp with his Slash Harken mounts which broke their fall and put them perfectly inside of a truck which sped away.

The panicking purebloods turned to try to follow despite Jeremiah's furious orders to let them go. Only as Kewell went to speed after them, his legs were blown off, "WHAT?!" His Knightmare crashed to the asphalt and he struggled to push it up with its arms to try to get a view. Then he saw it. An urban camouflaged Knightmare of a design he didn't recognize was far across the way. It was massively bulky and seemed to be made entirely of cannons. Every single one of them could move independently of one another, and they were all acquiring targets. It was using its Slash Harkens to anchor itself to one of the tallest buildings, "Watch out!" he yelled to no avail as the thing had already fired.

Every other Sutherland there had parts of themselves blown off by the unknown machine. Shards of twisted metal rained onto the pavement and showers of sparks rained from the broken machines. Even Jeremiah hadn't escaped the fury. Inside the bulky mess of a frame, C.C. sat grinning, "Sorry boys!" She sing-songed as she let out another wave of fire and finished disabling every machine – including some of the aerial copters – that could have pursued, "No glory for you today!" She had found herself participating in the rescue after Lelouch and Milly had shown off their prototypes.

" _What the hell is THAT?" Kallen screamed, almost in horror. The frame she was looking at was massively bulky and unwieldy. It was_ _humanoid with thick armor plates. Each arm had two sniper cannons on adjustable levers and there were half a dozen more that acted as 'wings' that could swivel forward. She was twitching as she eyed the monstrosity._

 _Lelouch chuckled, "We did warn you, didn't we? That's one of the failed prototypes. We envisioned it as a very long range sniper unit that would be capable of moving stealthily and providing heavy support from far behind the lines. Unfortunately, when it was built, the original frame couldn't handle all of the weight. So we had to make that sturdier, which made it bulkier. It became too heavy for regular Slash Harkens to pull it and for regular Landspinners to push it. So then we improved those…which made it heavier again. It all just kept building up and building up until finally we ended up just throwing our hands into the air and calling it. Even if it has immense firepower and extreme range a set of Sutherlands could have a damn tennis match around it. I think you could stick it next to 'sitting duck' in a dictionary if it ever lost the range advantage. Plus we never got the damn stealth system to work. The materials we were able to get our hands on at the time were either too flimsy or too heavy. After all, when it was built we didn't exactly have as many people working on it or the funding we had even three years later. It's one of the earliest designs."_

 _Milly was poking her fingers together despondently, "We tried our best…" She was pouting heavily, "But unfortunately…that's pretty much the tale with all of these prototypes." She pointed to a dark red one three 'docks' over, "That one right there was our attempt at creating a transforming frame. We wanted to be able to fly with it."_

" _What failed on that one?" C.C. asked in curiosity._

" _That one was one of our better projects actually. It's one of the more recent projects…I think two and a half years back. The transformation worked flawlessly…and it even flew pretty well. It maneuvered surprisingly well." Lelouch said, "I could even possibly claim it as a Generation Six. The problem was…" he started rubbing the back of his head ruefully, "It was flimsy like you couldn't believe. We tried to come up with some sort of system to counteract gravity, but we just couldn't make it work reliably. So we had to turn conventional, and fuel is horribly inefficient. Most of the energy is wasted, so we needed a whole lot of it. The weight of the fuel and the tank demanded a light frame, which meant that it couldn't take many hits at all. A stray shot in the wrong area would have had the tank leaking at best and exploding at worst. We just gave it up as a bad job."_

 _Milly shrugged helplessly, "And that's kind of the story with most of our prototypes. Our ideas were great. Every single one was a test bed intended to give our frames some sort of edge over the Britannian frames. But they were either too ahead of the time or we lacked the resources to make them a reality. It didn't help that I'm a lousy pilot. Lelouch was the only one truly capable of testing most of the designs, and one person in safe simulations against static targets doesn't exactly give you the best data,"_

" _Damn straight." Kallen scoffed, "Still, I_ am _impressed. You really were trying to innovate." She smiled, "You have a partner now Lelouch, so hopefully we'll be able to turn out a_ real _prototype soon. You're right. Glasgow knockoffs aren't going to cut it." She started to snicker, "Too bad these won't either!" She started to laugh out loud as both Lelouch and Milly started poking at the ground with storm clouds over their heads._

 _C.C. had a smile grow on her face as she watched their antics. "No, they definitely won't." She said in amusement, "But that doesn't make them useless does it?" She looked at them as they jerked their heads to her in surprise, "All of these had a purpose in mind when you built them. Make them_ fill _that purpose. Behemoth here was_ never _meant to fight other Knightmare frames even at the beginning, so why was its lack of Knightmare-v-Knightmare capability what killed it?" She smirked at them as their eyes lit up and patted the now-christened Behemoth on the foot, "You two will be in the heart of enemy lines and all attention will be on you. It's the perfect situation for it to get a field test, isn't it? After all… it's always wise to have a backup plan… no?"_

Shaking herself from the memory, she fired one last series of shots. After that, she disengaged and started lowering herself, her mission complete. She disappeared into the tunnels, "It's a good thing Lelouch is such a massive ham. If they hadn't been focusing all of their attention on him this damn thing really would have been blown up. Yesterday. I would never have been able to get set up." She mumbled to herself in amusement. Its purpose had been served, so it was time to lock it back up again. There was a _reason_ this prototype had been rejected after all.

 **-]|[-**

"I didn't think he could do it…"

"Yeah… who the hell is this guy?"

The Kōzuki cell were sitting with one another discussing the night's events. Tamaki was still sneering, "It's bull! How many times can a bluff like that work, anyway?"

Oghi sighed, "Even still…You gotta give the guy some credit…" He looked up at the night sky, "Nobody else could've pulled that off." He said with utter surety, surprising the hell out of Tamaki, "Not the Japanese Liberation Front… and certainly not me. We've always thought that a full-on war with Britannia wasn't a possibility at all. But maybe with him, it is." Kallen had to bite back a smile.

Deeper inside the building, Zero and Suzaku were facing off, "It looks like they treated you rather roughly. Now you know what they're really like, Private Kururugi…. Britannia is rotten. If you wish to change the world, then join me!"

"Did you…is it true you killed Prince Clovis?" Suzaku stood steadfast staring up at that mask.

Lelouch debated with himself, "Yes, I did." He said with finality. It wasn't that simple, but there was no reason to say otherwise right now. Those who deserved to know would know, "It is natural to kill an enemy commander on the battlefield. That is how war works."

Suzaku's expression hardened, "And the gas? There were civ-"

Lelouch immediately became angrier than he really should have been. He did _not_ like where that statement was going. Especially from someone he considered a friend, though Suzaku had no way of knowing that, "Do you think me a **butcher** like your masters, Kururugi?" He asked acerbically.

Suzaku was instantly aware that he had probably made a mistake and he had to hold his ground, otherwise he would have taken a step back.

"Rest assured that the gas was nothing more than colored smoke. There was _never_ any poison gas." Suzaku's eyes widened, shocked that this man knew that fact, "When I found that container it had already been opened. With how much gas could have fit inside of a container that well-built, it should have been enough to cover Shinjuku in a miasma of death and possibly even blow into the Settlement. The entire thing was a cover up for what your Prince wished to hide." Despite the mask's expressionless features, Suzaku knew he was being glared at, "And I do not appreciate being compared to a murderer like him."

Suzaku glared back, "What about those videos you showed! All that will do is incite more violence! You can't get anywhere like that! It's just going to get more innocent people killed!" He took a step forward, "Violence isn't going to do a thing! Japan lost! You have to change the empire from within!"

"Change the empire from with…" Zero seemed to freeze, before an incredulous laugh bubbled out of him, "I didn't think I was dealing with a child here!"

Suzaku turned away, "The ends are worthless if the means to get them are contemptible. I'm leaving. My court martial begins in an hour."

Zero watched him go with growing irritation, "The only reason you're getting a trial is because they want to find you guilty. That's how scapegoating works! The judge, the prosecution and defense… they're all there to kill you! No one is on your side!"

"And if I don't go, they'll start taking it out on other Honorary Britannians and the Elevens." It was at that moment that Lelouch knew his old friend was lost to his cause. If he was even referring to his own people by their number moniker in complete privacy, then he was part of the problem. "Besides, you've thrown a monkey wrench into the situation, haven't you?" he turned, "With what you did tonight, there's a good chance I'll be acquitted anyway. So for that, I thank you. As payment I won't take you to the authorities."

Zero stared at him for a moment, before he chuckled, "As if you could."

Suzaku's eye twitched and he turned away, "If we meet on the battlefield…I'll make you eat those words."

Zero shook his head in exasperation, "Fine then! Go if you feel you have to. I have no need for a poor, naïve fool like you! You think you can change Britannia from within? I'm just as likely to grow a pair of breasts. The only thing that's going to change is _you,_ Kururugi. They'll work you to the bone without a word of praise. They'll put incompetents up for promotion ahead of you. They'll ridicule you and spit on you and your ideals. And if by some **miracle** you actually manage to get somewhere with your task, one day you'll wake up and find yourself just as corrupt as the rest of them. When that happens and you fall to your own despair, _remember this moment!_ " Suzaku froze and clenched his fists, stiffly advancing into the dawn's light.

Lelouch sat heavily and let out a sigh. For a few moments, all was still before he heard one of the doors clang open, "Lelouch?" He turned and inclined his head toward Kallen, "Where is Kururugi?"

Lelouch let out a sad chuckle, "It appears we rescued a fool, Kallen." She blinked in shock, "I'm afraid mister Kururugi thinks it's possible to _change the Empire from within_. He's currently on his way to his court martial." Her jaw dropped and her eye started to twitch, He sighed, "I had hoped to have him on my side. We're old friends after all. But I have no need for idiots. It's a good thing that our primary purpose tonight was my debut, otherwise it would have been a complete waste."

She facepalmed, "Did he seriously…?" She stopped and let out a sound that was probably only audible to dogs.

He shook himself and stood, "Let's go home. We have work to do."

"Yes sir!" She rid herself of her resentment for Kururugi. If Lelouch wasn't bothered, then she wouldn't be either.

 **-]|[-**

Subdued. Somber. Quiet. Those were perfectly acceptable words Lelouch could have used to describe his classmates. Most of them had bags under their eyes. Several were just listlessly staring at the ceiling while the teacher struggled to keep their attention. Ultimately it proved to be a futile task. _No one_ looked proud to be a Britannian today. Or at least none of the students did. Last night's broadcast had been far too visceral. Finally, the teachers around the school gave it up as a bad job and had the principle declare classes cancelled until after the weekend. Several students just dove into club activities, eager to do anything to get the images out of their heads.

The Student Council did the same, meeting at the clubhouse, "I just can't believe it…" Rivalz had a dull look to him.

"I can't either…" Shirley replied lowly. Her face was still puffy from all of the crying she had done throughout the night, "How could Prince Clovis do that? He was always so kind!"

Lelouch sighed, "You want what you want to hear Shirley… or do you want the truth?" She stared at him with a look of surprise. Lelouch gave her a half-shrug, "The truth of the matter is, the face you see isn't always the face you get. Clovis clearly wasn't deserving of his position. Either he let the power go to his head and it changed him, or the face he always showed of the gentle and charismatic artist was just a facade."

Kallen had mixed feelings on the situation. At the same time that she was happy seeing her new friends actually _thinking_ and being sympathetic to her people and disgusted with their rulers, it _had_ been a very raw scene to expose regular schoolchildren to. "I was shocked too…" She said tiredly. She didn't have to fake that. It had been very late when she got home. Lelouch wasn't doing much better than her. He was even yawning at the moment.

Milly was watching the room with her Geass hidden behind her hand. She wasn't very surprised to see Shirley and Rivalz acting the way they were. Both wore their hearts on their sleeves most of the time, and Shirley was very emphatic just like her. No, what surprised her was Nina. Her emotions were like a hurricane inside of her. She had been confronted with the fact that the Japanese she was so afraid of were actual real people who were treated worse than dirt. Not only that… she had seen her faith in the royalty and nobility shattered just like the rest of them. Seeing a gentle person like Clovis order a massacre had thrown her into turmoil. She was terrified of the 'Elevens' but seeing them slaughtered like that was never something she wished for.

 **-]|[-**

In another part of the world, another battle was waging, "Open fire!" The Arabian commander roared, "Do you wish to become another Area? Do you want to submit to these Britannian bastards and be slaughtered like cattle?! Like the Japanese were?!"

"HELL NO!"

"THEN ONWARD MEN! SLAUGHTER THESE MURDERERS!" The advancing Bamides all fired their massive cannons, wiping out the front line of the advancing armor. They had far greater range and power with their weapons. But their jubilation came to an end abruptly as much smaller Knightmares began speeding out of the smoke, avoiding the fire with laughable ease, "Gloucesters?!" The commander roared, "But they were supposed to be in Serupham!"

"Shoddy oversized imitation Knightmares." One of the men leading the charge spat. He was an extremely tall, very bulky man with a square jaw and a diagonal scar running down his face. He had shorter light brown hair but up in a spiky manner. This was General Andreas Darlton of the Glaston Knights.

"They would've been wise to surrender from the start." His partner said plainly as he destroyed another of the oversized, incredibly immobile behemoths. This was Gilbert J.P Guilford, the personal knight of Princess Cornelia. He wore thin, stylish glasses and had his black hair done up in a ponytail with some of the bangs escaping over his forehead. He was wearing the same red uniform as the other Glaston Knights.

"Damn it all!" The Arabian commander roared before they were distracted with their base behind them exploding into a fiery pyre. "Cornelia! One unit did this?!" Those were his last words. The Knightmare they piloted had been doomed from the start. It had no chance against properly designed machines. The massive conflagrations that engulfed them practically vaporized them. Not even their bones could be collected.

"Another victory!" Andreas smiled sharply at the job well done.

"Yes…" The Princess' voice sounded listless which made their jubilation come crashing down in worry. The Princess had been absolutely furious at the deaths another of her siblings in Area Eleven, but the broadcast that had played of Kururugi's escort had turned her vindictiveness to sorrow. "Another Area formed…number 18 I believe." She sounded about as excited as the desert they were in was wet.

"My lady…" Andreas wasn't sure what to say to the strongest woman he had ever met.

"Princess… about our next course of action…" Guilford trailed of hesitantly.

She sighed, "My apologies my Knights… It appears my brother has left us a mess to clean up." She trailed off herself, not sure what to think anymore. She was no stranger to war and killing… and unfortunately she couldn't even claim to be a stranger to killing civilians. As someone who refused to negotiate with terrorists in the past… innocent blood was on her hands. But this? Remorselessly ordering the deaths of thousands to hide your own mistakes? Babies slaughtered in their dead mother's arms? People who couldn't possibly have known or – in the case of the youngest – remembered whatever the fuck it was that he had been hiding? And who the hell was this ' _her?_ '

It was a disaster her brother had left her with. An emotional disaster… a PR nightmare… and a shot heard round the world all at once. These Arabians had been absolutely vicious after the broadcast. Fairly ineffective in actual battle, but vicious. A surprise attack had almost cost Andreas one of his sons. They had even _lost_ some of the ground they had previously gained. The Arabians had even begun suicide bombing to try to force the Britannians out. Ultimately it had been futile, but they had forced Cornelia to stay far longer in this damn desert than she had actually planned or hoped for. By now Euphie would have already arrived alone… hopefully she hadn't had too much trouble without her there.

"Please don't apologize, my Lady. We live to serve and our place is with you." Another of the Glaston Knights spoke up, loyalty shining in his tone.

She barely heard him, hardly even acknowledging the man. She stared up at the bright blue sky which was unfortunately starting to be blotted out by smoke, ' _What happened to you Clovis? What happened to that gentle and talented artist I watched grow up?_ '

 **-]|[-**

 **And that's a wrap! Hope you all enjoyed it!**

 **Some small things:**

 **We saw one of the disregarded but not** _ **discarded**_ **prototypes Zero has built! It was pretty much as stated… guns on legs. More dakka! MORE! I envisioned it as a bulky behemoth that ended up being** _ **roughly**_ **the size of a regular Knightmare frame, but far too bulky and heavy to properly maneuver. Its Landspinners can barely propel it even at maximum thrust. It's a good thing Britannian buildings are built strong, otherwise poor C.C. never could have gotten up there. :p**

 **The only thing it was good for was what it was used for; sniping out multiple targets at once. That is likely the last it'll be seen. Poor Behemoth. :(**

 **Jeez, Zero can be a bit of a dick in this one can't he? Stomping all over poor Tamaki and then breaking the Purebloods. Please Zero, tell us how you really feel. And speaking of the purebloods, I wonder what'll happen to them? Things didn't quite turn out the same did they? There was no active hunting of one another this time around and they were all taken out by enemy fire. And Cornelia will be turning up slightly later as well! The seeds have been planted, and not just in her.**

 **I'm really on a roll with this one. It's been a while since I've been able to get three consecutive chapters out for one series. I'm really enjoying myself and getting to re-watch the series at the same time. Win-win baby!**

 **What do you guys think I should name the think-tank that Lelouch owns? Ultimately it'll be a multinational things headed by Rakshata of course. The front company I named Nova. I'm talking about the secret one.**

 **I can't help but be a little bit displeased with some of the dialog in this one. I can't tell you WHY I'm unhappy with some of it… some of it just nagging me a bit. Still, altogether minor. Some of it may end up being revised at some point.**

 **Primordial out!**


	4. Turn 04 - A Princess, a Cat and a Witch

**Hey everyone! I've discovered something!**

 **I fucking hate Suzaku's last name. HATE. Every time it pops up I have to stop and think of how many times I have to ururururuururu. It just isn't becoming automatic.**

 **I have to ask, what is C.C.'s name in your own personal headcanon? I'm not really partial to any first name in particular yet – though Cecilia is nice – but I really like the thought of her last name being Constantine for some reason. I'm still not sure what first name I'm going to give her.**

 **It had been my intention originally to just outright skip the whole cat hunt. After all, there's no way this Lelouch would be incapable of catching Arthur. But… I decided some fun was in order.**

 **Anyway, does the 'official' timeline for Code Geass look a little** _ **off**_ **to anyone else? According to the timeline on the wiki, the entire Black Rebellion from when Clovis is assassinated to when Zero disappears lasted all of two months at best? That just seems…kinda strange to me. It doesn't help that there are very few events listed for R1 compared to R2. I'm most likely going to have to only refer to it very casually, if at all.**

 **Also, does anyone know where I can find the entirety of Oz and O2 online?**

 **I have a question for you guys. How do you think I should approach scenes that switch perspective multiple times the way Suzaku and Lelouch's speech in Shinjuku lined up in the anime? I use the '** **-]|[-' for scene breaks where entirely new scenes start, and use '…' for scenes that are connected but have cuts in them. Overusing '-]|[-' seems like a terrible idea. I even completely avoid flashback that are obnoxiously labelled flashbacks, so having '-]|[-' '-]|[-' '-]|[-' in some scenes seem like it should be out of the question. What do you guys think?**

 **A lot of canon to trudge through in this one unfortunately. I hope I succeeded in keeping you lot entertained. I tried to make some different dialogs… did a few scenes differently… but it's a bit difficult in these kinds of 'for want of a nail' fics that have so many characters. There's bound to be events that just flat out** _ **don't get directly affected**_ **by the nail. But I maintain that you can't just dodge them either. That's just lazy writing.**

 **One last thing before we get on with it; Are Gloucesters fifth or sixth gen? The wiki has them listed as fifth, but IMO that doesn't make any sense. The whole point of the sixth gen was that not a whole hell of a lot happened in terms of improvements to Knightmare tech. The Gloucesters are clearly more advanced than the Sutherlands despite technically being remodeled versions of them, so it fits for them to be sixth doesn't it?**

 **-]|[-**

 **Turn 04 – A Princess, a Cat and a Witch**

 **-]|[-**

"Case No.107 against Private Suzaku Kururugi, Area 11 Military Forces. In the murder of His Highness Prince Clovis you are no longer a suspect, and are hereby set free due to lack of evidence."

Suzaku couldn't help but deadpan. Lack of evidence. Of course there was no evidence. He hadn't bloody done it. "What happened to the mountains of evidence Margrave Jeremiah had?" He heard his own voice mumble before he could stop himself, and had to hold back a cringe when he realized what he'd done.

The judge happened to hear him and the man let out a heavy snort, "Everyone knew it was a load of crock, kid. But if you'd prefer it I can have you back in your jail cell."

Suzaku just bowed with his face flaming, thanked the man and walked out with a duffel over his shoulder. "I can't believe it." He murmured, "Guess I really have to thank that damn Zero."

"Out of the way please!" He heard a cute, feminine voice yell out from above him. He whirled around and his eyes bugged out at the pink-haired lady falling from the sky. He idly noticed a makeshift rope made out of curtains hanging out of a window above the girl as he braced himself to catch her, "Oh!" She made a soft squeak as he caught her.

"Are you alright?" Suzaku had to hold back a blush as he eyed her. She was gorgeous with blueish violet eyes and her pink hair hanging long and loose except for two buns on the sides of her head. She wore a simple orange dress with a green vest.

She didn't bother answering the question and instead began to apologize profusely, "I'm very sorry! I didn't think there was anyone below me before I jumped!"

"Uh, that's okay." Suzaku said awkwardly, "I wasn't exactly expecting anyone above me as I walked out either."

"Oh my…" She recognized him of course. How could she not?

"Is there something wrong?" Suzaku blinked.

She looked down, before turning a bright smile at him that set his heart thumping, "Yes, something's wrong!" Her tone turned a little urgent, "The truth is…I have some bad guys chasing me. Can you help me please?"

…

"Thanks for helping me out there!" The girl told Suzaku brightly, "But we haven't introduced ourselves yet, have we? My name is Euphie!"

Suzaku had put on a pair of sunglasses. He wasn't exactly sure how they helped in concealing identities, but seeing as how they hadn't failed yet… "Euphie huh? My name is…"

"No, no, you're a celebrity." She grinned, "Son of Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi; Private Suzaku Kururugi."

He harrumphed in amusement, "You lied before. There's no one chasing you at all, right?" he didn't notice at all that the girl had already left to go chase a cat. She was on her knees before the poor kitty, who had an injured paw.

"Meow!" She appeared to be trying to talk to the cat, which amused the hell out of him even though it was getting her weird looks from elsewhere. "Meow, meow! Aww, does the kitty's paw hurt?" The cat hissed at her. "Oh, meow, meow, meow!" She offered a finger to the poor thing, and it began rubbing itself on her. She smiled and picked it up, proudly presenting it to Suzaku. He smiled and went to pet the cat himself…and it bit him, "Oh my!" Euphie blinked at his grunt of pain, "Cats don't like you huh, Suzaku?"

"I like em fine…" Suzaku winced as he attempted to pry the cat off his finger, "But the feeling isn't mutual."

…

For Suzaku, the next hour or so was the most fun he'd had in a very long time. He took Euphie around the Settlement, going to store after store. He couldn't help but start to like the kind, gentle girl. She kept making poses while window shopping at stores, which made him laugh. Her puffed-up, flustered face was quite cute. He learned that she had been a student in the homeland just a few weeks back and that she was on the last day of her holiday. He felt quite smitten with her, and honored that she would spend the day with him.

Unfortunately, he could tell almost immediately that she didn't feel _quite_ the same. Whenever she thought he wasn't looking – which was quite often because of the sunglasses – she would start looking down and sad… maybe even despondent. She tried to make it look like she was having fun, but he could tell that something was deeply bothering her. Finally, he decided to say something about, "Euphie, are you alright?" She blinked and turned a questioning gaze to him, "I can tell that something is bothering you a lot. You've looked really sad when you thought I wasn't paying attention."

She sighed and turned her head to the ground. Suzaku frowned at that, thinking that was an emotion this young girl really shouldn't be feeling. Finally, she turned back to him, "I'm sorry Suzaku…" She said sadly, "I've been trying to enjoy myself…but I just can't get it out of my mind." She turned to him and all of a sudden, Suzaku started getting the feeling that he stood before a General. His spine stiffened as even her voice became authoritative, "Suzaku Kururugi… please take me to Shinjuku."

"What?!" Suzaku bit back a gasp as his eyes widened behind his 'disguise.'

"I have to see it." She turned away, "With my own eyes…" The last was a whisper.

 **-]|[-**

"What are you doing?" Kallen asked Lelouch as she walked up behind him. C.C. and Milly were both to the sides having their own conversation.

He sighed, "I hate to do so but I really need to learn more about my Geass."

Kallen's eyes widened as she looked below and saw what Lelouch was staring at. Or rather, who. A girl whose name she did not know was standing before a wall and making a little scratch on it, "What did you do to her?" Her voice was a little accusing.

"My Geass seems to be the most powerful outright out of our three, but it also has quite a few more limits." He frowned, "I asked her to mark that wall once per day while she is a student here. Of course, I told her not to do so if she was sick or otherwise occupied, but if she has a free schedule, she'll come down and do so." Kallen looked and saw that there were at least two weeks of marks made on the wall.

"Well, at least you made conditions for where she wouldn't have to." Kallen said and glared at him, "If you hadn't I would have beat your ass bloody, accomplices or not." She growled, "Can you imagine what that poor girl would have done if she… say… had to go back to the homeland and that Geass activated?" Lelouch's widened eyes showed that he had not, in fact, considered that, "Idiot! You have to be more careful with that thing!"

"You're right." Lelouch let out a hiss of frustration, "Thank you Kallen. I've been making more than a few commands conditional and I'm glad I thought to do so here. I hadn't even considered that."

"Good to see you two are getting along!" Milly popped up between them brightly, which made Kallen jump slightly.

Kallen scoffed, "Don't get any funny ideas Milly!" She joined Lelouch in leaning over the rail, "Anyway, what else have you learned about it?"

Lelouch turned back and resumed watching the girl walk away, "To use my Geass, I need to have direct eye contact with the subject. Transparent objects like eyeglasses present no problem, but reflective ones like sunglasses do. The effective range is approximately 270 meters, and the subject appears to have no memory of events before, during or after the power is used. I think this is due to damage caused by the Geass interfering with the brain of the subject. Also… seeing as how the signal is optical I can reflect it." He grunted, "And of course, it appears as if I can only use it once per person."

"You've learned quite a bit about it. I'm impressed." C.C. walked over and joined the three, "Though you'll excuse me if I'm a little dumbfounded that you got the exact range it'll function for." She let out a little giggle, "Or do you plan on putting a little range-finder on that helmet of yours, boya?" The three girls began giggling at his expense.

"Laugh it up." Lelouch grumbled, "Just you wait… I'll make you do some stupid dance in front of the school."

"It won't work on me, remember?" C.C. sing-songed.

Lelouch turned the devil's own grin on her, "Who said anything about my Geass? It's been three weeks Witchie." She stiffened at that dark grin, "I know how you tick now. I'll have you enrolled in the school and give Milly free reign on you."

"That's the best you can come up with?" She snorted, "I don't exactly have any reason to follow through on it do I?"

"Don't you?" Lelouch held up a finger, and her eyes bulged out. Spinning on the tip of his finger was a little rectangle she swore she had in her bra.

"Nooo…." She mewled, pawing for it.

"Can't exactly order all the pizza you want without my card, can you?" Kallen and Milly burst into laughter.

"Traitors!" C.C. mumbled, which just made them laugh harder, "How did you even get that? It was in my bra!"

"Nin~ja!" He turned her sing-songing against her, "Very nice pair by the way." He grinned perversely.

Kallen turned to Milly, "Isn't he your boyfriend?" She looked bewildered, "Aren't you going to… you know… at least yell at him for that?"

Milly frowned, "Wait a minute! That's right! How dare you Lelouch!" She then made Kallen facepalm as she turned to _C.C._ and groped her, "You didn't let me watch! Hmm…I'd say these are more than just ' _very nice_ ' Lelouch."

Lelouch started to chuckle, "Don't want to feed her ego too much, do we?"

"Perverts!" Kallen groaned piteously as C.C. glared and started groping Milly back, "I'm surrounded by perverts!" She slumped to the floor.

 **-]|[-**

"Shinjuku Ghetto…" Suzaku sighed, "Ruined once more. The people were just starting to return to it too…" He trailed off sadly. All around them were signs of the devastation wrought on the Japanese. What had once been a bustling city was now just a ruined reminder of what Britannia had done. Buildings were toppled over. Roads were full of holes, both from Knightmare rounds as well as bombs. But most damning were all the bloodstains Euphie could see. She could tell exactly where the bodies had lain as they walked through the city. The place was just a desolate hellscape, with the pristine Britannian city standing almost mockingly off to the side. "The Shinjuku Ghetto is finished…"

"I hadn't wanted to believe it…" She whispered, "Prince Clovis… he ordered all of this." Tears began leaking silently from her eyes. She saw posters and hand-drawn messages in what had to be Japanese on the walls of several buildings. Several candle burned, placed by parties unknown. She had brought one as well, and she placed it on the windowsill of one of the buildings that curiously had no wishes. She let out a strangled gasp when she looked inside and realized that it had been missed in the cleanup. The bodies were still there… including a child and what could only have been his grandparents. Dark, dried blood was splattered all around the room. She stumbled back and then emptied her stomach of the lunch Suzaku had bought. She started to sob outright, "WHY!" She screamed, "Why would he do this!" Suzaku put an arm on her shoulder and dragged her away. She didn't need to see this. Euphie continued sniffling and trembling slightly as they walked, until they came upon Shinjuku's ruined park. There were gifts placed everywhere near wooden stakes that could only have been tombstones. Stapled to them were pictures, probably of the ones who had died.

Their attention was attracted by two voices, "Man…how could Prince Clovis do this?" It was two Britannian students who hand somber looks on their faces. One of them had a camera and was taking pictures of the area.

Neither of them looked particularly happy, "They didn't deserve this…" The other said in the same tone as his friend. "Those look like hummer rounds…" He pointed, "They even used heavy machine guns?" The one with the camera made sure he got a shot of it.

 **-]|[-**

"This info about Zero! Is this accurate?" Jeremiah yelled in excitement. He hadn't been able to do a damn thing about Zero during their first meeting, but this was a different story. Zero didn't have scores of Britannians held hostage this time nor was he wearing a damn dead man's switch. He would wipe this stain from his record and present that masked bastard's head to Princess Cornelia when she arrived.

"Yes, sir. Lord Kewell contacted me!" The Pureblood feeding Jeremiah the information said. This was a necessary sacrifice for the continuation of their order. Jeremiah had been their leader during that debacle so now he would serve the same purpose he had meant for Kururugi. As long as he lived, they would be called into question for allowing Zero to escape. They weren't entirely sure what 'Orange' was either, but it couldn't have been good if it was only after they learned of it that Jeremiah had made the decision to let them go.

"Right. Set up a cordon around Shinjuku Ghetto Sector 4 at once!" Jeremiah told them, and sent his Sutherland speeding through the streets.

"Cordon Sector 4. Roger!" The member said and clicked the mic off, "Okay, ball's in your court now, Lord Kewell." He turned to smirk at his partner. With Jeremiah gone and taking all of the blame, there was a possibility that they could earn their stripes once more.

Only both gasped as a sharp blade swung between them, "I wished for you to connect me to Lord Jeremiah, but I can see you're a little busy." Villetta glared coldly at the two members. She too had been suspicious of Jeremiah, but she had found it more than a little strange that he had experienced memory loss in the same manner that many of those from Shinjuku had. She was no traitor and she wouldn't be selling him out like this. If he was complicit the way she feared then she would execute him herself, but she wouldn't allow him to be backstabbed by cowards either.

 **-]|[-**

"You damn Britannian bastards!" The sound of yelling near where they had heard those two boys from earlier caught Euphie and Suzaku's attention. They whirled around and watched as a tall redhead slapped the boy's camera right out of his hand, the sound of plastic clattering to the floor echoing in their ears, "Are you here to mock our suffering some more huh?!"

"Tamaki no!" One of the other Japanese with him yelled, trying to drag the man away.

One of the students had his hands up, "We don't want any trouble man." He had a sad look on his face, "We don't like this either! We just wanted to document it. That's all." He looked away, "They shouldn't be able to hide this…"

Tamaki seemed to have been caught by surprise, before his face contorted in rage, "Yeah right! You damn Britannian pigs are all the same! I bet you were crowing about this before that broadcast and now you're pretending to feel sorry for us!" He seized one of the terrified students by the lapels.

"Please stop!" Suzaku ran up the hill towards them, "No more violence!"

"Stay out of this!" Tamaki swung a backhand at the brown-haired man and knocked the glasses off his face.

Several of them gasped, "You're Suzaku Kururugi! You killed Clovis!"

"That was Zero you idiot!" Another shot back.

Tamaki spat on the ground, "Tsk. This guy is nothing more than a slave. Big deal. You're an Honorary Britannian. You think anybody cares? You happily sold your pride, your people and your own soul! You think you can call yourself Japanese!?"

"You're wrong!" Suzaku took a step forward that could have been construed as aggressive, and Tamaki took the unintended bait.

"I'm not wrong you Britannian lapdog!" he roared as he charged forward and threw a punch. Suzaku reacted immediately and grabbed his outstretched arm and flung the man to the ground in a devastating toss. "GAH!" Tamaki let out a gasp as all the air was forced from his lungs.

"Stop this right now! I'm a trained soldier! Don't make me fight my own people!" Suzaku stood tall.

Tamaki scrambled to his feet and spat again, "Like hell you're our people!"

But one of the Japanese men strode forward and grabbed Tamaki, "Baka! Stop it! This isn't worth it!" He started dragging the redhead away as he screamed obscenities at Suzaku.

The other Japanese man turned and looked at the students, who weren't looking nearly as sad or charitable anymore. He sighed and swallowed his pride, bowing to them, "I'm very sorry about him. That damn idiot's temper is going to get him killed one of these days. It really does mean a lot to us to see some Britannians paying their respects." With his piece said, he walked away.

One of the students – the one kneeling on the floor – growled, "At least the film was okay."

"I can't believe I ever felt bad. Those assholes deserved it! That asshole… my camera man…" He spat furiously as he checked the fragile camera out to see if it was still functional, "Wish he had gotten killed instead."

Euphemia had wandered up and her face twisted in anger, "I do not want to hear talk like that!" She marched to the two boys who flinched, "Too many have already died!" She deflated as the boys began to quail at her fury and shook her head. She shoved a small roll of bills into his hand, "Here. Get your camera repaired." She smiled tiredly at them, "Thank you for caring. I know that guy ruined things, but I guess every bunch has a couple bad apples huh?"

The student looked ashamed, "I… yeah." He closed his eyes, "Thank you miss." He and his friend walked away.

"Suzaku…" Euphie handed him back his bag.

"Is it bad to be weak?" Suzaku asked, "Back then when I was ten, the world seemed like such a terribly sad place. A world without any hope at all. Starvation…disease… racism. Constant war and terrorism… the never-ending cycle of hate… The cycle must be broken. Somebody has to do it." He couldn't possibly know that the same conversation was happening elsewhere between four conspirators. "Of course, it's doubtful if the one who does it will make all the bad things go away… but at the very least… a world without war. We can reach _that_ dream at least. No one should have to lose more of the people they love."

"And how would you go about it?" Euphie asked curiously.

"I don't know how to do it. But if I stop trying, then my father's death will have been in vain." Suzaku said quietly, "My own father died, because he had to sacrifice his life in that war."

They both gasped and whirled around as an explosion rang in the distance. They watched as black smoke started to rise into the sky, "No!" She yelled, "Why won't they give these people peace!"

In the distance, Jeremiah was surrounded by four other Sutherlands, " **Jeremiah**!" Kewell said through his speakers, " **As long as you live, we Purebloods will be marginalized at best. Letting Zero – Prince Clovis' murderer – go free has put a black mark next to all of our names. We'll have to wipe away our disgrace before Princess Cornelia takes up her post here!** "

" **Kewell! You dirty coward. That sighting of Zero was a lie, wasn't it?** " Jeremiah spat furiously.

Kewell had a determined look on his face, " **Sorry old friend, but this is just business. For our continued survival and prominence, you have to die! I don't know what** _ **Orange**_ **was but it was only after he revealed that part that you released Kururugi! Because of that, we have an easy call to make! We won't let the Purebloods be sunk!** " He laughed then, " **I really must thank you! If you hadn't made the decision to scapegoat that damn Eleven this all wouldn't have been possible! I'll take good care of the Pureblood Faction for you!** " He and his cohorts charged.

 **-]|[-**

"Suzaku!" The Lancelot's trailer skid to a stop near the two and Cecile opened the door.

"Miss Cecile!" Suzaku's eyes had widened. How in the world had they known where he was? Suddenly he felt mortified. How long had they been following him and Euphie?

"It's dangerous here. Get in!" Cecile told him as he and Euphie ran up to the trailer.

"Seems like the Purebloods are having a petty squabble." Lloyd said uncaringly, before his face went that standard Smug Lloyd look, "Too bad about your acquittal though! Looks like you're stuck working for me." He turned away to go back to his seat, but Suzaku's voice caught his attention.

"Please wait! This is a good situation to get battle data for the Lancelot isn't it?"

Cecile gasped and Lloyd smirked at the boy, "Oh ho…"

Suzaku turned, "Sorry Euphie. This will be goodbye for now. I need to do this. I think I can stop them with the Lancelot. I have to try. I... I must!"

 **-]|[-**

" **Damn you dirty cowards!** " Jeremiah roared, " **You think four against one is enough to stop me?!** " He fired the grenade on his assault rifle at the ground before Kewell's Sutherland, pelting the machine with rocks and dirt. Kewell growled as he was forced to shield himself, but Jeremiah hadn't been idle. He had turned as the jousting lance passed where he had been standing and clotheslined the hapless and traitorous Pureblood. As the Sutherland fell, he equipped himself with its lance and backed out of the encirclement. Jeremiah grinned as his blood sang in his veins, " **There's a reason I was our leader, Kewell. You never could beat me in a fair fight."**

" **We'll see about that, Orange!** " Kewell and the three others charged. Jeremiah brought his Stun Tonfa to bear on his arm and met the lance straight on. He pushed his Sutherland's arm to the side and threw Kewell off balance, sending his lance into the knee of one of the other enemies. He managed to evade the retaliating thrust of the third Sutherland but the fourth had circled around and taken his back.

" **Damn it all!** " He cursed as warnings popped up over his screens. The screeching of metal told him what the screens said. One of the lances had taken one of his Landspinners from him, halving his mobility. Kewell had recovered and thrust again, this time catching him on the other leg as he deflected it once more.

" **So I guess even the mighty Jeremiah Gottwald can be beaten! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!** " Kewell crowed victoriously as three of the four of them charged, looking to impale Jeremiah from every direction.

" **STOP THIS RIGHT NOW! You're all Britannian soldiers!** " A new voice rang through the air. Jeremiah's eyes widened as twin Slash Harkens pierced the ground and made the traitorous Purebloods disengage.

" **Suzaku Kururugi?!** " Jeremiah choked out, " **The advanced weapon, Lancelot! Why the hell is that Honorary Britannian helping me?!** " He yelled out as the Harkens crashed back into the white frame.

Kewell growled out, " **What business do the Special Corps have here? Interlopers will die!** "

" **Not a chance!** " Suzaku yelled calmly. He reached behind his machine and pulled out two white and gold swords, which flashed red at the middle before closing in. The whole blade turned red. " **I can't ignore this meaningless battle!** "

Kewell's pupils were trembling in their sockets, " **No way… MVS! They've perfected them?!** " Suzaku crossed his blades in front of him. Kewell grew serious even as sweat poured from his brow, " **It doesn't matter! I won't retreat here!** " He fired his Slash Harkens, and his fellows followed suit.

" **We're all on** **the same side here!** " Suzaku ground his teeth in irritation. Why couldn't they see that? He leapt and slashed right through Kewell's Slash Harkens, before beginning to cleave through the others. One of them was cleaved right down the middle and _through_ the extremely strong cable which was built to survive the stresses and rigors of _flinging anchors around._ He was cutting through them so easily that it almost broke their resolve. This damn prototype was just too strong! Suzaku landed and sliced off the arms of one machine and then bent down into what was almost a three-point landing. His elbow rose and blocked the lance, showing that the Lancelot's armor was _far_ more advanced than a standard Sutherland's armor. Suzaku then kicked the enemy's legs out from under him and spun to cut right through Kewell's lance and arm.

" **We can still kill him at least!** " One of them responded to Kewell's yell by trying to spear through Jeremiah, who blocked with his Stun Tonfa. " **Damn it!** " Kewell growled as a sixth Sutherland appeared, knocking the Pureblood right off of Jeremiah and revealing herself to be Villetta.

Euphie was panting as she ran through the corridors, trying to reach the battle and stop it. She finally ran into the light as Kewell ordered a retreat, " **I'm using a Chaos Mine!** "

"Stop it right now!" Euphie screamed just as the weapon of death was thrown into the air. She gasped in shock and recognition as it began to hover there.

"Euphie no!" Suzaku yelled as the eyes of the Purebloods all bulged out in shock at that face. All of them instantly recognized her. Suzaku brought Lancelot in front of her and activated the Blaze Luminous. The green shields blazed into existence and he layered them as best he could to try to protect the pink-haired angel he'd met.

The Mine started screaming and pelting the area with molten shrapnel. They all pinged off of the Blaze Luminous and went careening elsewhere. Suzaku's foot got scratched which was the first real damage the Lancelot had taken all day. The Purebloods on his side both crossed their arms and weapons over their cockpits for more protection, which was a prudent move as the slightly less powerful, but no less deadly shrapnel peppered their machines. Jeremiah's machine had its head and Factsphere damaged while Villetta's arms took the brunt of it. Finally, the Mine finished its dirty work and fell to the dirt, spent.

Euphie uncrossed her arms from where they had been positioned to protect her face with that same serious look that had sent a shiver down Suzaku's spine earlier. She marched forward, fury on her face, "Everyone! Lower your weapons!" When it seemed that no one was responding, she yelled, "NOW!" Instantly, weapons from all of the machines in that desiccated and destroyed stadium clattered to the floor, "In my name, I command you!"

"I-it can't be!" Kewell shuddered.

"I am Euphemia li Britannia, Third Princess of the Empire! I am taking command here! Fall back! NOW!"

"Yes, Your Highness! We are truly sorry!" The soldiers chanted as they all fell to one knee and assumed the Knight's pose.

Suzaku left the Lancelot, "Your Highness! I beg your apology! I had no idea who you were."

She turned to him, her eyes lidded sadly as the boy went from a cute friend to a subject. She had really hoped she would be able to keep her identity secret from him. She turned back with a sigh and yelled again, "All of you, disembark from your Knightmares at once!" The men and woman practically flew to the ground, before kneeling before her. Suzaku followed their lead and they all kneeled before her. "Explain yourselves immediately! What possessed you to act like such barbarians at the site of such tragedy!"

"Your Highness…" Kewell chewed the inside of his cheeks before he was interrupted by Jeremiah.

"Princess, I had been alerted by the Pureblood dispatchers that Zero had been sighted in the area!" The Blue-haired man said calmly, somewhat more used to dealing with royalty than the others. "I was unable to do anything during his first appearance because he wore a dead man's switch. He had every Britannian in that debacle held hostage and they didn't even know it. I was forced to let him get away lest every Britannian there die. I was determined to bring him in today, but it turned out that this was an ambush! They wished to do away with me in an attempt to wipe their slate with her Highness, Princess Cornelia. Suzaku Kururugi and Villetta Nu came to my aid!"

Euphie turned and glared at the five men, who could only tremble and stare at the ground, "Well? Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"Your Highness…" Kewell could only panic at the fury in her eyes. His voice failed him.

"All five of you are hereby demoted to the lowest rank our military possesses! I strip you of your Knighthood, effective immediately!" Euphie glared at them, and all five of them started looking like men who had already died. Their bodies just hadn't realized it yet. She turned to Jeremiah, Suzaku and Villetta, "Gottwald, Nu!" The two of them stiffened, "Get these men out of my sight! Send copters to pick up their former Knightmares. I can bring one of them back on my own."

"Yes, your Highness!" The two yelled. They entered the more undamaged Knightmares belonging to the traitors and each grabbed two of the men.

Now, Suzaku and Euphie were alone once more. Her eyes were still lidded as she stared at him. "Suzaku, you and I bear a similar deep pain. You have lost your father as I have lost Clovis."

Suzaku forced back a sharp inhale, "Yes Your Highness… Zero took him from-"

"That is not what I was saying!" Euphie said sharply, "I will never be able to remember the memories I held of Clovis with anything but pain for the rest of my days. All of them are now stained by the blood of all the innocent people he ordered slaughtered. I'll never know if I ever knew him at all or if it was all a façade from the start." Suzaku looked at her, completely stupefied as her eyes filled with tears of pain, "I don't know how that kind and gentle man became a barbarous murderer but I will not call him my brother any longer! I can't…" She whispered brokenly, revealing that her conviction wasn't as strong as she wished it to be.

"Princess…" Suzaku breathed, unable to believe this was the same young lady he had spent the day with.

"Suzaku… will you help me?" She held back her tears valiantly, not letting a single one fall, "I too believe that no one should have to lose a loved one on a battlefield any longer. Will you help me make that dream a reality?"

"Yes! I am unworthy of your kindness!" Suzaku bowed his head, exasperating Euphie. She didn't want a subject damn it! She had enough of those!

 **-]|[-**

"So, how's the work going?" Kallen asked Lelouch. They were down in the labs and she was staring at the new model they were working on. Milly had been called away by her grandfather for some unknown reason, so it was just her, Lelouch, and C.C. right now.

"It's going swimmingly." Lelouch had a dark grin on his face. "Making sure to get working parts off that white monster to tinker with was one of the best decisions I ever made. It is beyond innovative. Its creator – one Lloyd Asplund if I recall correctly – must be an utter genius."

"What made it so powerful?" C.C. asked, remembering how it was able to wipe the floor with Sutherlands even after it was missing an arm and a leg.

"Every Knightmare Frame before it has used Sakuradite in only the Yggdrasil Drive and in the Energy Filler." Lelouch explained, "But Sakuradite is a powerful superconductor. This White frame – this Lancelot as it was called in the iteration of its production I was able to get from Clovis – uses a much larger Core Luminous than normal, allowing it to conduct more power. But that's not all. It _also_ has Sakuradite scattered all throughout the frame itself in strategic locations. That's what gave it such incredible response times and speed."

"Wow, something that simple gave it that much of an edge?" Kallen sounded amazed.

Lelouch began to chuckle, "It's more complicated than that. It was actually so powerful that even the above average Knights could barely get it over 40% sync. Apparently Earl Asplund blew _all_ of the budget only on the machine and all of the experimental technology he stuffed into it. The damn thing doesn't even have an ejection seat!"

"Is he mad?!" Kallen blurted out in shock, "How the hell could he justify that? If whoever he found to pilot it died he'd be screwed twice over! He'd have to rebuild the damn thing and then find a new devicer on top of it!"

Lelouch chuckled again and shrugged his shoulders, "I never said he wasn't insane, just that he was a genius. Needless to say, we _won't_ be doing that."

Kallen smirked, "Alright, so we've gotten good data. How close are we to a working prototype?"

Lelouch sighed, "Somewhat. I hate to say it, but not even my best scientists are half as good as this Asplund guy. They're working hard but some of the data is obsolete compared to the real deal. They don't want to tinker too hard – especially on that Blaze Luminous – and risk destroying it before we're able to have a second one working. It doesn't help that we need a mass production unit just as much as we need an extreme prototype. But thankfully there's actually some good news." His sigh turned into that vicious grin that Kallen idly realized sent shivers down her spine, "Not only was there some decently up-to-date information on a still-incomplete weapon called the VARIS Rifle in the data, but I was contacted by Kyoto. We're getting our very own Seventh Generation suit from them sometime soon and this VARIS seems like it'll be insanely powerful when it's completed." Kallen gasped and her face lit up with a blinding grin. " _And_ if it's coming to us, then its creator no doubt will come too." He held up a data pad showing off an Indian woman with blonde hair and tan skin. She had a purple _bindi_ on her forehead and had only one button of her top done up, exposing the large amount of cleavage it was barely holding back, "Rakshata Chawla. One of the most brilliant scientists in the world. She has degrees in everything from cybernetics and robotics to medicine and textiles. When she arrives, our development pace will skyrocket."

"Isn't Kyoto also sending us their mass produced unit too?" C.C. asked, idly flicking through her data pad.

Lelouch snorted, "I'd have already told them not to bother if it wasn't for the worry that they would keep the Guren too. They're just shoddy reimagined Glasgows with improved arms capable of blocking. Hopefully we'll never have to use them. I plan on ripping them apart for materials when they arrive."

"I'm just surprised we're getting this much time to prepare." Kallen said with a cute look of befuddlement on her face. She was honestly a little confused. They didn't even have a new Viceroy yet.

Lelouch smirked, "It turns out that my decision to broadcast Clovis' deeds was more of a masterstroke than I had thought it possibly could be. Several Areas started to fight against their regimes and the Middle Eastern Federation is currently giving the Empire hell. It was as if the broadcast gave them a booster shot. They're still going to fall, but it's taking far longer than it should have. Princess Cornelia is probably going to be our new Viceroy if I know that bastard half as well as I think I do and she's currently locked up forming Area Eighteen."

"Why are you so sure about that?" C.C. inserted herself into the conversation once more, "You have other siblings, don't you?"

Lelouch snorted, "Hundreds of them with at least a hundred stepmoms. I could probably count the number of them that I know the names of on my fingers."

Kallen looked incredibly amused as C.C. smirked, "Yes, Charles _is_ randier than a jackrabbit isn't he?" Lelouch made a face which Kallen copied, "But that doesn't really answer my question."

"Schneizel would be an option, but he's the Prime Minister. He can't afford to be locked to the Viceroy position here. Odysseus may be the Crown Prince but he's a kind man. Too kind for the situation. Carine would be an option, but that bloodthirsty brat is the last person he wants sent to this hotbed the way things are now. Especially after the broadcast revealing what Clovis ordered. Guinevere… she'd be more likely than Carine, but that's not saying much." Lelouch sighed, "That leaves Nelia and Euphie, which complicates things." He saw their eyes widen in surprise at the pet names, "They were the only two of my non-direct siblings that I actually cared for."

Kallen let of a hiss of air, "Are you going to be able to fight against them?"

"Yes." He said with certainty. "Regardless of my feelings for them, I _will_ fight them, if for no other reason than to test our capabilities against theirs. Nelia isn't like Clovis. She's an actual general and one of the most successful ones in history. I'm eager to pit our forces against her." He smirked.

"I see." Kallen grinned fiercely, "Hopefully it won't be too much longer on our machines then. I'm also eager to fight this Goddess of Victory!"

Lelouch smiled, "You'll get your shot Kallen. Don't you worry about that." He sighed then, "Nelia was always a military woman but she only became a Blood Knight after mine and Nunnally's 'deaths.' If I were to speak truthfully… I hope to bring them to our side at some point."

Kallen bit her cheeks, "Are you crazy?" She yelled, "Cornelia is loyal to Britannia! Why would you waste your time on that!"

Lelouch snorted, "Please… Nelia is loyal to Britannia only because she's loyal to her family. And possibly because if she wasn't, the bastard would hurt Euphie to get to her. She never cared about any of them the way she cared for me and Nunnally, and she cared for us about as much as a rock on the road compared to how much she adores Euphie." He smirked, "And I know Euphie. She'll _not_ be happy with the revelations about Clovis and the things he's done. If I had to describe her… it would be a technical pacifist. She hates fighting and war, but she's spent too much time by her sister's side not to know how the world works at times. I wouldn't be truly surprised if she wasn't better than most of our cell at Knightmare piloting… even if she would hate every minute of it. There's no way Nelia would allow her to be helpless. If I can get _her_ to our side – and she loved us as much as we loved her – it is that much more likely that Nelia would follow."

"You're playing a dangerous game Lelouch." Kallen hissed.

"I know." He replied tiredly, "Especially if she has too much time to allow her rage at our deaths to affect her once she arrives here in Japan. I'll have to hope Euphie can curb her. They adore each other after all." His gaze turned dark as he turned to the redhead, "But don't mistake my compassion for foolishness Kallen. I won't put us or our revolution at risk. If they don't join us… then they're enemies." He tapped underneath his left eye, and Kallen got the message.

"Just as long as I can hold you to that." She said with an exasperated smile, "Now why don't we-"

SLAM

They jumped and turned around, eyes widening as they gazed upon the rare sight of Milly Ashford looking absolutely _fire-spitting furious._ "Oh hell." Lelouch groaned, "I know that face." Milly ignored them and grabbed a glass from the table. She whirled around and threw it so hard that it practically exploded on the wall. Lelouch surged into action and wrapped his arms around Milly, pinning her arms with his. "Shhh…" He cooed in her ear, "Calm down love."

"Let me go!" She tried to kick out, which Lelouch stopped casually. "I just want to break things right now!"

"Holy shit!" Kallen watched with wide eyes, "I've never seen her like this!"

"I didn't think she _could_ get like this." C.C. looked like she wanted to hide behind Kallen, which was hilarious as she was the immortal one there. "She's always been unflappable."

"I have." Lelouch deadpanned, "What did the whore do this time?" He asked in dark exasperation. Kallen and C.C. looked at each other and blinked. They both shrugged in equal amounts of confusion. Finally, Milly stopped struggling and burst into tears, whirling around in his arms and burrowing her sorrow into his neck.

"Oh hell, Milly what's wrong?" Kallen couldn't help it. She went and wrapped her arms around her friend and her boyfriend, trying to soothe the girl at least somewhat. C.C. looked vaguely uncomfortable, before a pointed glance from Lelouch had her doing the same.

Milly just shook her head and sniffled in their collective arms. After a few minutes, she finally calmed down enough to turn and return the hugs from the other two girls, "Thanks girls…" She sniffed again and wiped her tears.

"No problem." Kallen said unsurely, "But what the hell brought this on?"

"Her mother." Lelouch said, and both of the girls stiffened at his tone. They had gotten to know him much better the past few weeks. Lelouch didn't get angry often, and when he did it was usually obvious. But according to Milly, it was when he went _cold_ that he was at his absolute most furious. And now hearing the utter wrath in his tone made them believe her.

Milly sighed, "My family is formerly of the nobility, as you well know. When Lelouch's mother was killed, the rest of the court jumped on us like a hoard of jackals trying to tear our legacy apart for supporting the ones they considered to be the 'Dirty' Empress." She led them to the tables and they took seats, "My grandfather was forced to abdicate his position as Head of the family, and it was his son that took over." She hesitated, so Lelouch took over.

"Which was the only thing that could _not_ have happened." His tone was still dark, "Aldwin Ashford is a coward of a man who is easily browbeaten. He's afraid of his own damn shadow. So when Delores Selby decided she wanted to move up in the world of nobility, she grabbed Aldwin by the balls, said they were getting married, and that was the end of it." Both of the other two had their jaws open and Kallen's right eye was twitching, "When the Ashfords lost their noble titles, Milly was too young to be made the Head. Ruben was forced to give it to his son, which in actuality meant that Delores was made the Head."

"My mother did not take kindly to losing her noble status." Milly growled, "For the past seven and a half years, she's done _everything_ in her power to raise our name up again. She's whored herself out in an attempt to get pregnant with some other noble's child. She tried to get other nobles into debt with her. She called in old favors… everything. And nothing worked. She's gotten increasingly rabid about it. To her, Nobility is the only thing that matters." She spat, "And three years ago, she suddenly remembered that I had breasts and started trying to involve me. She kept egging me on to try to force Lelouch to reveal himself. She knew I was smitten with him and was completely delusional with the thought that I could show a little leg and Lelouch would be eating out of the palm of my hand. She proved that she neither knew nor cared about him at all, and proved the same for me." Her hand clenched into a fist that trembled on the table. Kallen reached over and took Milly's hand in a show of support.

"Indeed." Still that cold tone, "So a year ago when it became clear that she wasn't getting what she wanted, she tried to arrange a marriage for Milly with a fat pig of a noble."

Kallen slammed her hands on the table and rose up in outrage. "WHAT?!" The glasses on the table jumped and crashed onto their sides.

Milly sneered viciously, "Sayoko made him reconsider." There was a dark tone of victory to her voice.

Kallen sat heavily, "How could such a sweet girl like you come from such a bitch?"

Milly smiled brightly at that, "All my grandfather and none of the whore and my sperm donor." Kallen and C.C. snorted.

"Anyway… the whore didn't try anything after the third attempt at arranging a marriage ended in the nobles in question suffering unfortunate accidents or suddenly cancelling for unexplained reasons." He had a pleased smirk which was mirrored by the three girls, "We thought she had given up on using Milly." He turned to his blonde lover, "So, what pig do I have to stick this time?"

Milly let out a heavy huff, "Unfortunately, it won't be that simple this time." She jerked her head to the side, where there were windows showing the Knightmare bays, "Earl Asplund."

"Damn." Kallen cursed.

"He'd be under heavy guard." C.C. murmured, "With the success of the Lancelot…he's currently their golden goose."

Lelouch chuckled, "No, you girls aren't thinking correctly. This is actually perfect." They snapped their eyes to him as he turned to a slightly-betrayed looking Milly, "Asplund isn't the problem here… _they_ are. We don't have to touch him." She put his hand on his cheek, which immediately drew their attention to his left eye, "I want you to get your donors here." He had a dark grin splitting his face, "I don't care what lies you have to make up to do it. Say you're close to working me down. Say that Nunnally misses the homeland. Say I'd only agree to do it if I could have the two of you at the same time." He paused, and all four of them turned green, "Okay, maybe not that far. But it doesn't matter. _Get them here_ and we'll be rid of them _forever_." The lightbulb went on inside their heads as his own eye started glowing a demonic red, "I am going to **enjoy** this."

 **-]|[-**

Lelouch's eyes widened, before the right one started to twitch, ' _What in the hell is he doing here?_ '

"I'll be joining the student body here at Ashford Academy beginning today. My name is Suzaku Kururugi. It's a pleasure to meet you." Suzaku gave a little bow at the front of the class.

The class clearly wasn't paying attention to the teacher and instead had their attentions solely on Suzaku during the lecture. The teacher didn't really care. He would be paid regardless of whether the young fools in his class realized that they could gossip some other time. So when the bell rang, he packed up and left the room without a care. The whispering started immediately, "What's an Eleven doing here?"

"He was a suspect in Prince Clovis' murder!" Another whispered heatedly.

Kallen had her sickly persona on, but she still spoke up, "But the teacher says the charges were dropped."

"He was suspicious enough to arrest wasn't he?"

"You don't really think he is a terrorist, do you?"

"Of course he isn't. The school board would know something like that." None of the students really cared about whether Suzaku could hear them nor how their words could affect him. They were wary of him even after the broadcast. They felt bad of course, but they were wary nonetheless.

Nina was fidgeting, "An Eleven…" This was her first time being near one since the broadcast… though to be fair, it had been a _long_ time since the previous time too.

"He is an Honorary Britannian." Rivalz corrected.

"Still the same." She mumbled. Seeing the atrocities had deeply saddened her because she had seen that the Elevens were also human. But her fear was still there. It was poison in her mind… because of her memories.

Shirley had always been all heart. "We shouldn't be afraid of him. I think I'll go say hello and see what he's like." She smiled brightly and started to walk towards Suzaku, but Rivalz grabbed her wrist.

"The guy just got here. Let's not be too hasty now." Rivalz shook his head in what he hoped was a convincing manner.

The three friends and Kallen all looked at Lelouch in surprise as he got up. He had finished packing his bag but had just left it on the table, and made a beeline towards Suzaku. Suzaku's eyes widened at the fact that his old friend was approaching him. He'd honestly had no intention of speaking to Lelouch in this school when he'd noticed him sitting in the middle. The risk was too high that he'd be discovered. He entirely missed Lelouch's knuckles straining as he made a fist.

WHAM!

The whole class started to squeak in shock as Lelouch smashed his fist square into Suzaku's face, knocking the boy right off his seat. "LULU!" Shirley screamed in scandalized horror. His three friends were gaping with their mouths covered. The rest of the class instantly raised their voices and started to gossip. Kallen was staring at Lelouch in dumbfounded shock.

"What was that for?" Suzaku blurted out as he sat up, wincing as his face screamed. "That hurt! Wait…that hurt?" Lelouch had hit him hard enough to cause pain? Did he walk into some sort of bizarro world?

"I _do believe_ I owed you that one!" Lelouch glared at the brown-haired boy. Instantly the gossip silenced. Did these two know each other?

Suzaku winced as he remembered the penultimate time they had seen each other.

" _I have to go!" The boy said, looking at the small hand clenched weakly around his wrist._

" _We need you here Suzaku! What about Nunnally?!" Lelouch looked desperate._

" _I'm sorry Lelouch!" Suzaku tore his wrist out of Lelouch's grip, "My father is saying that he's going to fight to the last man! He's going to get our entire country destroyed! I have to talk some sense into him! I can make him change his mind! I know I can! He has to see reason!" He took off and started to run._

" _SUZAKU!" Lelouch yelled hoarsely at his much-stronger friend's back._

" _I'm sorry Lelouch! Tell Nunnally sorry for me too! I have to do this!" He stopped and whirled around to say that, "I'll come find you! I promise!" He turned back and too off once more, disappearing into the tree line._

Of course he hadn't found them again. They hadn't seen each other for seven years after all. Suzaku stared at the exiled Prince's violet eyes which were smoldering in satisfaction, "Yeah…I guess you did." He winced and clapped a hand to the wound, which was already purpling. The whispers kicked back up.

Lelouch grabbed Suzaku's arm and nearly wrenched it out of socket as he hauled the boy to his feet. Instantly, he wrapped his arm around Suzaku's neck in the perfect position to give the boy a noogie and dragged the boy out of the room. "Ack! Lelouch! Let me get my bag at least!" He was summarily ignored.

The rest of the class watched them go with dumbfounded looks on their faces. "What the hell?" Rivalz cried out, giving perfect words to the thoughts of the room.

 **-]|[-**

"Jeez!" Suzaku rubbed his neck tenderly when Lelouch finally let him go. "Since when was Mister I-hate-exercise able to haul a trained soldier around?"

Lelouch snorted, walking over to the rails and leaning on them, staring at the grounds. "Since I had to carry Nunnally on my back through a sea of blood after you went after your father." He deadpanned. Suzaku flinched in despair, "It was a miracle that we were found when we were, because we wouldn't have lasted much longer. Or at least I wouldn't have lasted much longer, and Nunnally would have been alone." He stared up at the blue skies. So peaceful… nothing like they were back then, when smoke billowed and blotted out the sun for hundreds of miles. "Pride is worthless if it'll get you killed."

"I'm sorry…" Suzaku bowed his head, feeling more shame than he ever had in his life.

"Sorry does nothing." Lelouch said nonchalantly, "But it's been seven years. The past is the past. I promised myself that if I saw you again, I'd give you another chance… if for no other reason than Nunnally would want to see you again." He turned back and smirked, "After I knocked your lights out of course."

Suzaku smiled and grasped the outstretched hand, "Thank you, Lelouch." He paused, "Is that still what I call you? I hope I didn't blow it down there."

"Yeah, I still go by Lelouch." He said uncaringly, "Lelouch Lamperouge. Anyway, how in the world did you end up here at Ashford?" He then made Suzaku twitch when he turned lidded eyes to the boy, "You don't owe anyone… _favors_ do you?" The way he said the word made the insinuation clear.

Suzaku's face turned bright red. "A-and now you're popping jokes too? You sure you're actually Lelouch?" Suzaku stammered.

Lelouch began to chuckle, "You spend years dating Milly Ashford and try to keep that stick up your ass firmly lodged."

"Ouch. Kaguya will sure be disappointed to hear that." Suzaku started to chuckle.

"Not really." Lelouch grinned, "I'm sure Milly would love to have some _fun_ with the little Empress."

Suzaku blanched, "Don't you corrupt my cousin!"

"Corrupt?" Lelouch snorted incredulously, "Are we thinking of the same girl?"

Suzaku shook his head in bemusement, "Anyway, what happened to the green-haired girl? Did you both manage to get out okay?"

Lelouch's face went hard, "Yeah, but not from lack of effort on those Britannian bastards parts." Suzaku stiffened, "The Royal Guard found us and were perfectly ready to execute me to take her back. If the terrorists hadn't popped by I'd be dead and she'd be back under their thumb." His gaze seemed like it would bore a hole through Suzaku, "She told me some of what they put her through before we lost each other, and apparently _that_ was the whole _Orange_ thing that Zero guy was referring to. I'm happy he killed that son of a bitch!"

"Lelouch!" Suzaku gasped in shock, "He was your brother!"

Lelouch sneered, "As if I could ever care about someone who would _torture_ a young lady for his own amusement and then order a genocide to hide his mistakes. He was no brother of mine." Suzaku swallowed and looked like he wanted to argue, so Lelouch pushed him off the subject, "Anyway, you never answered me. How the hell did you become a student here?"

"Ah!" Suzaku accepted the topic change immediately, eager to get off such dark thoughts, "Well, after my Court Martial ended in my favor, I met Princess Euphemia. She told me that seventeen year olds deserved to be in school, and she had me enrolled." He didn't notice Lelouch's eyes widen as he plowed on, "I actually guarded her because she requested to see Shinjuku. She was completely distraught…and said much the same about Clovis… she was near tears." Suzaku told him, looking down to the railing.

' _Euphie is already here?_ ' Lelouch kept a calm face, ' _Without Nelia close by? My, my, I never expected her to let little Euphie out of her sights._ ' Outwardly he smiled, "How was she?"

"Sad." Suzaku said somberly, "She acted a bit like an airhead and tried to keep her identity concealed, but something happened that caused it to come out. She was forced to take command of some Pureblood fight. I've never seen someone switch gears so fast."

' _Hoh…how interesting._ ' Lelouch had to bite back a grin. "Anyway, follow me. Classes as over for the day and I'm sure Nunna wants to see you."

…

The next day at school, an angry-looking Shirley marched right up to Lelouch before he had even gotten to his seat, "What was that all about yesterday Lulu?" She cried. The rest of the class immediately turned to them, "Why did you hit poor Suzaku! It's like you don't even realize you're the Vice-President!"

Lelouch snickered, "Like I said, I owed him that one."

Shirley's fist stopped shaking as she blinked. She had entirely forgotten about that, "Eh…? Wait, you two really knew each other?"

"Yes." Lelouch admitted easily, even as Suzaku had to hold back a facepalm. Hadn't he just told Lelouch last night that he had no intention of interacting with him at school?! "You know I lived in Japan before it became Area Eleven. He saved my life at some point. We're old friends." The class erupted into whispers at that.

Shirley's jaw dropped, as did Rivalz' and Nina's. She began to stammer, "B-b-but what was the punch about then?"

Lelouch shrugged, "He told me he had something he needed to do and that he'd catch up to us. I haven't seen him in seven years. So much for catching up, huh Suzaku?" He threw over his shoulder.

"Damn it Lelouch." The boy mumbled. He chuckled sheepishly and rubbed his head, "I never could find you! I apologized didn't I?" With that, the class visibly warmed up to the boy, which had been Lelouch's goal.

Now if only he could get the damn brat to not be such an idealistic idiot.

 **-]|[-**

"Nina was scared of Suzaku…" Nunnally trailed off sadly.

"I know." Lelouch sighed, "Even after I gave them some information, some of them are still wary. All they know him as is Clovis' killer, even if that was disproven. Nina is very scared of his people because of what happened to her… We're trying, but it's slow going." He turned a concerned glance to his baby sister, "Nunna…how are you holding up?" he saw his sister stiffen, "You haven't mentioned a word… about what happened? I know you couldn't see it…but I'm sure you could hear it."

Nunnally let a tear slip from under her closed eyelids, "What can I say?" She whispered, "What could I possibly say knowing what I know now, big brother?"

He took her hand, "I'm sorry Nunna… I know how much you liked him when we were younger… but obviously, he changed."

She nodded sadly, "Do you…do you think there was any chance the video was made up?" She really didn't want her memories of her older brother stained.

Lelouch bit his lip. Spare her the pain, or try to get her to see? "I don't think so, Nunna." He said sadly, "We haven't seen him in years." He had to be resolute. Nunnally's head dipped and her lip trembled as she valiantly tried to hold her tears in. Thankfully, a respite came in the form of his green-haired witch.

C.C. walked in carrying a stack of pizzas. She was wearing his red jacket over a cute white top and skirt he and Milly had bought for her. She was also wearing pigtails. Nunnally sniffed the air as the delicious aroma filled it, glad for the distraction. None of them noticed the cat walk in behind her. "Again, C.C.? We have food here you know." Lelouch said in exasperation. He had his head turned, otherwise he would have seen the cat.

"And none are so heavenly as pizza." C.C. said snobbishly, "Besides…I'm collecting points." She said cheerfully. Her eyes widened as Lelouch stole a slice, "Hey, get your own!"

"Bacon and chicken tender!" Lelouch said in rapture, "I sure know what to get myself." He said snidely, "Seeing as how it's my card an all." C.C. puffed up in irritation.

"May I have one please, miss C.C.?" Nunnally gave the immortal a big smile.

C.C.'s heart couldn't help but melt. Nunna really was just too adorable, "Sure." She handed a slice over to the blind girl on a plate.

"Oh, so she gets one without complaint huh?" Lelouch mock-pouted.

"Nunnally is cute." C.C. replied haughtily, taking a decisive bite of her slice. Nunnally blushed happily. She was just so glad Lelouch had found someone so nice.

They heard a soft meow and all three perked up. Lelouch watched as the door slid open and just caught the cat's tail as it left the room, "How'd a cat get in here?" he wondered, before shaking it off. "So what?" He turned back to C.C., "You're saying you don't love me anymore?" He teased. C.C. snorted and turned her nose up at him. He laughed and stood, wandering back into his room. He had to finish putting his suit away anyway.

Nunnally finished chewing and was just about to say something to C.C. when they heard a crash. Lelouch practically flew back into the room, "That damn cat!" He almost crashed into the door as it was too slow opening.

C.C. blinked in shock and Nunnally had her lips opened slightly. C.C. stood and peaked inside of Lelouch's room, wondering what had the boy so spooked. Her eyes bugged out as she saw the case which held most of his gear inside was open on the floor. The mask was definitively missing. "Oh dear." She walked back into the dining area and saw that Nunnally was gone, "…This won't end well."

…

The cat was fast, but Lelouch was faster. As it was jumping outside of the clubhouse Lelouch practically somersaulted over it and grabbed it. His landing probably would have gotten sevens. He could hear it hiss as he held it in his arms. He pried the mask off its head with an irritated growl, "Like hell I'm getting exposed in such an idiotic way." He snorted, half in amusement and half in exasperation. He had the cat in one arm and the mask in the other as he went back inside.

C.C.'s eyes widened before she chuckled, "Oh good, you caught it. That would have been a disaster."

"You're telling me. Where's Nunnally?" Lelouch laughed as he handed the cat to the girl, who began petting it. It purred in pleasure. He walked back into his room and secured his equipment properly this time, and then stashed it. He got his answer when the PA system came on.

" **This is Milly Ashford, your Student Council President. CAT HUNT, everybody!** " Lelouch groaned as his lover's voice sounded out of every loudspeaker. C.C. began laughing hysterically, " **Capture the cat which is running loose on campus! It took something from our dear VP, Lelouch! All club activities are suspended for the time being! Participating clubs will get priority on their budgets! And whoever catches the cat will get a super** _ **special**_ **prize! A kiss from a member of the Student Council! OHOHOHOHOHO!** " At that queen bitch laugh, both Shirley and Kallen who were elsewhere on campus practically had their souls leave their bodies. Shirley fell off the highest diving board at the pools and almost belly-flopped into the water in her shock. Kallen on the other hand…

"What? Mem…members of the council! LIKE ME?!"

"Exactly!" A bunch of guys _popped out of the goddamn bushes_ and roared gleefully. She practically jumped as high as her Glasgow in her surprise.

"Her ladyship's lips… I sure wouldn't mind a taste of them!"

"It's not gonna be like some lame peck on the cheek though, is it?"

"A kiss on the cheek would be fine with me."

"Wait. We can choose where she plants it?"

"Yeah! All right!" The perverts all yelled. Kallen had to resist the urge to break character and brain all of them. She ran away, though much more slowly than she could have. "There's no way that's how I'm gonna get my first kiss!" Selective memory loss was such a useful thing.

All around campus, students were cheering. One girl squealed, "Kyaaa! Does that mean Lelouch too?!"

"Actually, I'd like one from Milly…" another replied.

Her friends all turned to the blushing girl, "Please get back in the closet." One of them mumbled.

Milly's voice came back on as they were rousing themselves, " **And when you do catch that cat, bring what it's carrying to me, to me, TO MEEEE!** " Her laugh turned into a cough, and both Lelouch and C.C. were laughing their heads off.

He called the girl on her cell, "Sorry Milly!" He coughed as he broke into a set of giggles again, "You're too late! I already caught it!"

"Damn!" Milly laughed as well, "What did it take from you?" She began whispering until she was out of earshot of Nina, Rivalz and Nunnally.

"My mask." Lelouch switched to dead serious and his girlfriend began coughing hysterically.

"Oh praise the sun!" She cried out eventually, "That would have been a disaster!"

"You're telling me." He broke into a grin, "But we can hardly disappoint the school can we? What shall I replace it with?" After what Milly had gone through a few days ago, he would happily indulge her sense of fun.

Milly was silent, before she burst into laughter, "C.C.'s undies!" Lelouch's cheeks puffed out as he held back a laugh and then he turned an evil grin to his partner.

"What's that grin for?" C.C. goggled as he raised his arm and began to spin something on a finger. She blinked in shock before she looked down and pulled her shirt out, "HOW DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT?!" She watched as he began to cackle as he hooked her still-warm bra onto the cat's head and then threw it gently out the window. The cat ran off immediately.

He laughed, "I'll give it a head start shall I?" He kept an eye on it, making sure he could see what direction it was going in. It wouldn't do appear to _not_ be chasing it after all.

…

The first two students to get close to cornering the cat were Shirley and Kallen, who had teamed up to catch it. Shirley had been wearing only her diving suit, so Kallen had given up her jacket. The cat had tried to hide under a table and Kallen had seen it out of the corner of her eyes, "Is that a bra?" She yelped in shock.

"Is Lulu cheating on Milly?" Shirley gasped out.

Kallen bit back a snort. Like hell that would ever happen. So what was going on? That looked like it might have been C.C.'s size. "Whatever. Let's just catch it and protect our kisses!"

"Wait!" Shirley's eyes narrowed, "Who would you kiss?" As much as her mind denied it, she knew in her heart that she was still attracted to Lelouch. Even with him already taken she still wanted to be the next in line. She was rather suspicious that if Lelouch had cheated on Milly with someone, it would be with Kallen. After all, he invited her to the Student Council out of the blue! They had never spoken before! "It's not Lulu is it?"

"Why the hell would you say that?" Kallen yelped, and in the conversation that followed, the cat escaped.

…

After about an hour of Lelouch 'panicking' while inwardly laughing his ass off, he and Suzaku had eventually met up as the cat climbed the tallest tower which housed the school's bell. "Lelouch! You're chasing the cat too?" He started racing up the stairs with Lelouch hot on his heels, "Wow, you weren't kidding huh? I can't believe you're keeping up with me! Remember when that bird got loose?"

Lelouch snorted, "Don't bring up ancient history!" They chased the cat outside of the building up on the roof. They idly noticed the rest of the student body underneath them.

Suzaku finally got an eyeful of the cat, and there was no mistaking what was on its neck, "Is that a bra?" He asked incredulously.

Lelouch stifled another snicker, "Looks like it." He passed Suzaku quickly and grabbed the cat. It began purring in his arms as he pet it gently. He unhooked the bra and stuffed it into its pocket.

"Wait a minute! Lelouch you're not cheating on Milly are you!?" Suzaku gasped.

Lelouch chuckled as he sat with his legs hanging off the roof, "Nah, this was just a game me and Milly decided to play. It was all fake from the start,"

"But that… kinda looks too small to be Milly's." Suzaku blushed heavily, having said that. He hurried to explain himself, "Not that I'm checking her out or anything!"

Lelouch turned a glare – even though a mock, it was still pretty convincing – onto Suzaku, "You better not be." Suzaku stiffened and he chuckled. "Relax. I'm just screwing with you. Let's get back down."

…

"That was fun." Lelouch chuckled as he gave Milly a kiss.

She pouted, "Aww, did you have to ruin my fun so early?" She turned to Suzaku, "So, what was the cat carrying?" She winked. Suzaku chuckled and zipped his lips. "Oh phooey, you're no fun." She pouted, resting her head on Lelouch's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Wait!" Rivalz cried, "Was this a set up!"

"Yep!" Lelouch laughed, and several people in the crowd blushed sharply as he took a bra out of his pocket and started spinning it around. "Milly was feeling kind of down so I decided to cheer her up." Several people in the crowd groaned.

"Wait!" Kallen gasped in shock, "So our lips were never in danger!"

"Ohohoho! Sorry Kallen, but Lelouch did catch the cat! So that means he gets the kiss!" Milly laughed. She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and pressed her breasts into his back, "So who you going to choose Lulu? And it better not be me! We do that all the time anyway! This is supposed to be a prize!" Kallen and Shirley stiffened. "For both of us." She murmured in his ear, before giving his earlobe a little nibble.

"But you are a prize." Lelouch countered immediately. Milly practically melted against him and there were scores of schoolgirls wishing to change places with her, "I can't wait to unwrap you later tonight." All the girls in the crowd blushed scarlet.

"Do you not have a filter?" Suzaku goggled.

"Nope. Oh Milly, since Suzaku was with me technically he should win too right? Instead of a kiss, he should get to join the council. We're friends anyway so it should be fine right?" Lelouch asked, before starting to eye all three of the Council girls perversely. Shirley lit up in a massive blush while Kallen started trying to shoot daggers at him with her eyes. Nina just fidgeted.

"Yeah, yeah." Milly said carelessly. Suzaku turned to gape at her. Was that really all she was going to say? How the hell did that work? "Anyway, who you going to pick? The sexy orangette… the sexy redhead… or the sexy librarian?" Now even Nina was blushing profusely.

"Hmmm…" He made a show of eyeing all three of the girls, inwardly laughing at their reactions. He was sorry to say that Shirley was just out. That was a can of worms he wouldn't be opening. Plus she was way too clingy. So it was really between Kallen and Nina. "They're all too cute." Shirley looked like a steamed lobster. He was actually a little worried about her passing out. Nina's glasses were completely fogged up, though that was both due to the comments as well as the fact that her imagination was currently running wild. Kallen looked incredibly embarrassed as well as ready to knock their lights out.

"How about this then?" Milly grinned, "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…" Eventually, her finger fell on Kallen, which was exactly what she had intended. The girl's face went redder than her hair.

"Nonononono!" She crossed an 'X' in front of her chest with her arms, "I want no part of this! Noooo! Lelouch!"

He gently took her hand and dragged the feebly struggling girl back inside the clock tower building. Just as they were out of sight, he started to snigger. "That damn cat stole my mask!"

Kallen immediately stopped struggling and choked, "Wha-" She began coughing, "Are you serious?!" Her voice sounded strained as she continued coughing.

"Yeah." He chuckled, "Apparently Nunna got spooked from hearing me be hysterical, so she went directly to Milly. By then I had already caught it, but she didn't know that and came up with the cat hunt." He explained.

She facepalmed, her coughing finally under control, "I can see it now!" She started to laugh, "Zero caught! Unmasked by cat!" He joined her in chuckling, "Phew, but I'm glad you guys were just joking about the kiss. That was smooth dragging me in here to tell me what happened." She twitched as his smile grew. She blinked and then she was wrapped up in his arms.

"Oh, after all this time you still can't read us?" His arms were around her waist and her face instantly became inflamed again.

"L-L-L-Lelouch!" She stammered and tried to push away. Her face flamed even redder as her hands pressed against him. She gulped heavily as she realized that being pressed up against him felt way too nice. "U-unhand me!"

"You're too cute." he chuckled. He leaned down, and she closed her eyes and sucked in a little gasp of air.

But nothing happened. She blinked her eyes open as she realized that they were still close, "Huh?"

He was smiling. Not the usual perverse smile he usually tossed at them though. It was a genuine smile full of affection. Her breath caught, "I would never steal your 'first' kiss if you didn't want it." He said sincerely.

She swallowed heavily – a heavy blush still on her features – and bit her lip. ' _Well…I could definitely do worse…_ ' Her heart was hammering inside her chest, and she was certain that Lelouch could feel it. "B-b-but what about Milly?"

He chuckled, "Don't play coy Kallen. You know she's as eager to kiss you as I am." And wouldn't that be a sight he'd love to see.

She was fairly certain that she had no more blood in her body. It all had to be in her face at the moment. "You two… you're not just playing with me are you?" Her voice was unusually small and timid. For all her fire, passion and combat experience, she was still a schoolgirl. "I've heard the rumors." She said quietly.

"Of course not." Lelouch brought a hand up to her face and gently rubbed circles on her cheek with his thumb, "You're not them. They all knew it was always no-strings-attached. We haven't even been interested in playing with anyone since we met you." Her eyes widened, "You're our partner. You'll be with us through thick and thin… just as we will for you." His hand snaked behind her head and started running through her hair.

She swallowed heavily, "If you grope me I'll rip it off!" She threatened after licking her dry lips.

"Duly noted." His smile became a toothy grin for a moment as his hand came to rest on the back of her neck, and then they closed the distance.

…

"So how was it?" Milly had Kallen wrapped up in a hug from behind and was needling the girl.

"M-Milly!" Kallen stammered, her face still blazing. She really could have done worse. Lelouch at least was an excellent kisser. She was chagrinned over the fact that she was still feeling hot under the collar, "G-go away!" She just felt _confused_ about the whole deal. She had never expected to be in the situation. Not in her wildest dreams.

"You're right Lelouch! She really is just too adorable!" Milly laughed before planting a kiss on the flustered redhead's cheek and letting go. All good things had to come to an end though. Milly sighed and became serious. Kallen stopped blushing as she took in the blonde's countenance, "The whore will be here in three days."

"Are you really going to use _it_ on her parents?" Kallen asked, pretty glad to be allowed to dodge her embarrassment. She jumped on the opportunity to forget her jumbled emotions and thoughts for the moment.

"They're not my parents." Milly said decisively, "Parents care for you and your opinions. Parents are there for you when you need them. They love you and protect you. Neither of them have ever done a thing for me. I haven't even seen them in five years. It's always the phone with them." She sighed, "Frankly, I half-wish I had Lelouch's Geass so I could do it myself."

"Even still…" Kallen said, "I guess I just never expected something like this." She sighed, "I guess I can't complain. I still have a love-hate relationship with my mother."

"Really?" Milly blinked in interest. "How so?"

Kallen was fine with talking about it. After all, Milly and Lelouch had both confided in her before. She could at least return the favor, "Like I said before, she stays in that house and just continually gets ridiculed by _everybody_ else. She completely abandoned her pride. I just don't understand why she won't leave. I've even tried pushing her away myself, but she just smiles and takes it."

"Kallen…" Lelouch hesitated, "Have you not even considered that she may be staying there for _you_?" Kallen's eyes widened and she whipped her head to him, "I don't know her myself…but I do know _you_ … and what kind of woman you are. I can't imagine your mother staying there and suffering abuse for an old flame who she knows will never come back."

"That… no! That can't be true!" Kallen shook her head, remembering all the times she had just treated her mother so horribly, "It can't…"

He took her hand, "Maybe you should think on it…before it's too late." She squeezed his hand and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. All of the embarrassed happiness, amusement and good feelings from earlier were gone. Now that the idea was aired…all she could feel was the sick feeling in her chest.

 **-]|[-**

The school had once again been assembled in the gymnasium, where their gigantic projector screen was set up. Finally, after several weeks, it was time for Clovis' funeral. When the projector came on, it immediately became clear that this was not about to be a usual broadcast that involved a dead royal. Most of the flags were black – barring the actual flags of Britannia – and a huge, blown up picture of Clovis wreathed in flowers was conspicuously missing. There was but a single small picture frame of him, sitting before the casket holding his corpse. Very few wreathes of flowers surrounded it, and those few that were there seemed to have been hand placed by those that knew him.

Lelouch stood in the gymnasium with Milly to his left and Kallen to his right, "I hadn't expected such a… poor presentation." Kallen whispered.

"Clovis will be posthumously disowned today." Lelouch said with confidence. Her eyes widened, "Even Charles zi Britannia will know how the wind is blowing. He is a ruthlessly effective politician if nothing more. While most of those in the room care nothing for the commoners, he knows that despots have been disposed of by uprisings before. He needs a country and subjects to be an Emperor."

"Why bother with the procession at all then?" She asked curiously.

Lelouch smirked, "Because he'll make a spectacle of it. He will pretend to throw the commoners and the numbers a bone. In actuality, he will be telling his nobility that this means nothing. I suspect it won't even be a veiled attempt, but no doubt those in the homeland will eat it up. This is a rallying cry. That man cares nothing for his family."

"It's starting." Milly cut them off, gripping Lelouch's hand tightly.

So, that was him. Kallen's eyes darkened as an older man stepped up to the podium. He was tall. Much taller than any of them were at any rate, with a muscular and well-built physique. His long, white hair was styled into curls, much like people had worn hundreds of years ago. He wore a stately purple suit with golden adornments and a black cape fit for an admiral or a general over his shoulders. His white gloves crinkled as he gripped the podium tightly, "All men…are NOT created equal!" His booming voice echoed out of every set. Kallen's heckles rose immediately. _THAT_ was what he started his own son's funeral with? Lelouch noticed her stiff shoulders and offered her a hand.

She squeezed it tightly. "Some are born swifter! Some with greater beauty! Some are born into poverty and others born sick and feeble! In birth… in upbringing… in abilities… ALL HUMANS ARE DIFFERENT! Yes, that is why people discriminate against one another! That is why there is struggling, competition and the unfaltering march of progress! Inequality is not wrong… equality is!" All around the world, people were watching. Some in rapture…others in hatred. Those of conquered territories sat with clenched fists and grinding teeth. The nobility toasted their Emperor.

"What of the EU, which made equality a right? Rabble politics by a popularity contest! And the Chinese Federation, with its equal distribution of wealth? An entire nation of lazy dullards! But not our beloved Britannia! We fight… we compete… we continue to constantly evolve! Britannia alone moves forward, advancing steadily into the future, and there is no greater proof THAN THE DEATH OF MY FOOL OF A SON! He was proof that even having every tool and advantage given to them will never help those who are truly weak! Not even my own blood running through his veins made him strong! He himself was a **fool** and he died like one! On his orders hundreds were slaughtered, and he paid the price!" The cameras remained steady on him, though a single one panned over to poor Gabrielle la Britannia, Clovis' mother. Her image was overlayed in a tiny of the screen in one of the corners. Silent tears were pouring from her eyes, though that was the only sign of her despair, "But it was not enough that he died! HE ALSO BROUGHT SHAME TO OUR COUNTY! For this, he is **no longer my son**!" Gabriella could no longer hold herself together. She began sobbing outright, and with that action she knew her fate was sealed. She was no longer relevant and she didn't care. Her son was dead, her husband hadn't even _looked_ at her in years, and now she couldn't even call Clovis her son publically. She may even have signed her own death warrant in the eyes of the other consorts with her tears. Would she be the next Marianne? Would her name even be mentioned in the obituaries? "His name is to be reviled and all decorations are hereby stripped from him! But us? We shall fight on! We shall struggle, compete, plunder and dominate! And in the end, the future shall be ours! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!" He pumped his fist into the air.

"ALL HAIL BRITANNIA! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!" The chants sounded from the loudspeakers into the gymnasium. Kallen was almost crushing Lelouch's hand, though that wasn't much better than what he was doing to hers. Milly was wincing, as she didn't have anywhere near the strength Lelouch had. But it didn't distract from her anger. Charles zi Britannia exemplified Britannia, just as her mother did. It was because of him and his policies that her whore of a mother was the way she was. She would fight this man alongside Lelouch to her dying breath.

 **-]|[-**

 **And there we go. Charles always was a bag of dicks, but he was always one of the most** _ **charismatic**_ **bag of dicks.**

 **I never liked how Jeremiah got slayed during the ambush. I gave him a bit more of a fighting chance, though even for him, four on one in exactly similar machines was pushing it too far. And Tamaki once again got to shove his entire foot down his own throat. Just when Zero was making some progress too huh?**

 **Man, I had quite a bit of fun with the Cat Hunt. Like I said earlier, I had actually intended on just skipping the entire thing. But it was just too good of an opportunity to fuck with Kallen. They sure love teasing her don't they? Plus it gave me an opportunity to advance the** _ **plot**_ **a little bit. Hehehe… To be perfectly straight with you guys, that was probably the most heavily edited scene in the entire chapter. I just wasn't sure if I should have kept it. Let me clarify, Kallen has not joined the harem yet. That was just a kiss, and she's still very much confused about her feelings.**

 **Anyway, next chapter starts off with a bang. Originally I had planned to have the confrontation in this one, but this honestly seemed like a good place to end it. Thankfully though, I did some out-of-sequence writing last week. Mrs. Ashford's punishment is actually already written, so all I have to do is let the fireworks explode.**

 **Cornelia also finally arrives next chapter, after quite a big delay from working over Area 18. Cute little Euphie also seems to have a bit more of a spine too! She destroyed those rat bastards in the way she knew would hurt them the most. Clearly someone has been taking a few lessons.**

 **Poor Suzaku is sure taking some heat. Hope he managed to clench those teeth. It was never explained in the series when exactly they were separated. Or at least I don't remember it and the wiki doesn't mention it. I thought that running off and trying to solve the problem on his own would probably fit Suzaku to a T.**

 **Next chapter will definitely have a whole hell of a lot more action than this one. Nelia is stepping out of the frying pan and straight into the fire. Messing with the dates the way I did actually presented me with a bit of an opportunity.**

 **Primordial out!**


	5. Turn 05 - The Best Laid Plans

**Hey everyone! Yep, got another one. Unfortunately, its quickly becoming apparent to me that keeping this pace up for an extended period of time is most likely going to become unsustainable. Therefore, I'm going to start limiting when I post each chapter rather than posting them as soon as I'm done editing. In the meantime, I'm going to continue writing and hopefully start a backlog of chapters, so that I have something to post even if the muse starts being uncooperative. I haven't decided exactly how long the delay will be, so I'm going to try to play things by ear for now.**

 **Also, say it with me folks; "Primordial cannot answer reviews left anonymously."**

…

 **Some people have asked who is in the harem. You only get spoils if I have a good discussion with you and/or you've helped me out at some point. Even then I usually only confirm guesses and don't just flat out say who is in. :p I was purposefully keeping it tagged as Lelouch x Milly until now. I only expand the tags when someone commits to the relationship. No point in hav if I'm only up to A x Hand in-story. And another things: Just because someone is female and part of the main group does not mean she will end up in the harem. There are other people to pair off after all.**

 **Now, I want some input guys. I want to see what kind of Knightmare designs you can come up with! They can either be retired prototypes like the behemoth or ones that'll be used in the future.**

 **I really need to find OZ and O2. The only good source I seem to have been able to find ends at Volume 3 Chapter 9. I really want to read it so this is fucking annoying. I need to find sources soon otherwise I'm going to have to scrap the idea of using them altogether. Or at least for the first season run-through. I refuse to go solely by the woefully incomplete wikia and tvtropes. Which is a shame, because there seems to be some very interesting stuff in OZ.**

 **-]|[-**

 **Had a rather amusing idea strike me. What if four members of the cast all ended up time travelling for whatever reason? This has the potential for some awesomeness as well as some hilarity depending on whichever way you want to take things. You could have all four of them know and coordinate with each other, or for far more amusement, none of them know of one another and are constantly interfering with each other. In my head it was Cornelia, Euphemia, Kallen and Lelouch. You could even go at it with a 2v2. Imagine it; Cornelia and Euphemia trying their hardest to keep Lelouch from becoming the Demon Emperor, while Lelouch is sitting there wondering why everything is changing and already has no intention of repeating the Requiem.**

 **-]|[-**

 **Turn 05 – Best Laid Plans**

 **-]|[-**

"My Lady, we are now on approach." Cornelia looked up from the book she had been half-heartedly reading. Guildford stood before her, his hand over his heart in a bow.

She stood from her seat and walked over to the Captain's cabin, getting her first look at Area Eleven, "Seven years." She said quietly, knowing Darlton and Guilford were both behind her and paying attention. Seven years since she had last laid eyes on this thrice-damned island nation. Seven years since her precious siblings had been sent to this forsaken land by their bastard of a father. Seven years since said bastard of a father ordered an invasion of a land holding two of his children as 'hostages.'

Seven years since her heart had been torn from her chest.

Cornelia had never felt such desperation before nor since. She had abandoned her men to less-experienced commanders the second her old custom Glasgow's Landspinners had first touched dirt. She had torn apart the land, searching for her loved ones with only Darlton on her heels. She had come across the Kururugi Shrine and torn it apart, searching frantically for any sign of her little siblings' survival. She had found no bodies, but that hadn't done away with the ice in her chest. She had demolished the countryside searching for them. She even upturned boulders in hopes that they were hiding in little crags underneath.

It all had been in vain. A week after her search began, she had received the news. Her little brother and sister… her most precious ones, second only to Euphie herself, were both dead. The cry of despair she had unleashed had stricken fear into everyone who heard it, and it was said that even the dead had turned over uncomfortably. She had flown back to Pendragon, utterly defeated for the first time in her life. She had ripped open the caskets despite all orders to the contrary, and sobbed over their broken, mutilated bodies.

And now this cursed land had stolen another of her siblings from her. Only that wasn't quite accurate was it? Her brother had ordered a slaughter. A _massacre_. All to hide _something_. Something he feared would get him disinherited. She knew cruelty. She knew what it was like to make hard decisions. Countless innocent civilians had lost their lives at her orders, because she would not negotiate with terrorists. She sometimes saw ghostly faces in her nightmares, when she was far from anyone who could see her. Only her precious sister Euphie knew of the night terrors that occasionally plagued her.

She knew what war was, the bad and the ugly. She had ordered entire units slaughtered. Occasionally she had even given no quarter to enemies waving the white flag. She had seen men commit suicide in an attempt to take even a single of her units out. She had seen her own soldiers fall to their baser urges and take it out on local populaces. Those men she always punished personally. No army had room for rapists, much less _her_ army. So she knew the darkness and the brutality her race was capable of.

But this? This was different. Every hard order she'd ever given… every soldier she ever slaughtered in the name of Britannia… All of it had a purpose. If she negotiated with terrorists, then she was condoning them. Legitimizing them and their horrific tactics. In the past, units that had surrendered had been carrying suicide vests. She had lost her first Knight to such trickery. So when she gave no quarter… when she condemned hostages to their deaths… she did so with purpose.

She had never done _this_. She had never heard of any commander in modern times doing this. Babies! Children incapable of even walking much less remembering… slaughtered to the last.

She was broken from her thoughts by the impact of the plane's wheels hitting the runway. The skidding of the wheels sounded off in her ear. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even realized how much time had passed. She was now in Area Eleven…about to take command of the land that had stolen two siblings and driven another to madness. She turned on her heel and threw on her white general's coat.

As she descended down the ramp, she had eyes for only one person there. Her most precious sister's pink hair was a dead giveaway. She was wearing a charming pink and white dress with a rose choker around her neck. Cornelia both had to suppress a fond smile as well as a snort. How Euphie could wear these dresses was beyond her. The top was fine…gorgeous even, but the dress itself was laughable. How in the world could she move in that mess? She much preferred her wine colored military uniforms. She couldn't help the note of affection in her tone as she spoke, "I heard what you did Euphemia. You shouldn't be so reckless."

Euphie smiled lightly, "I have no regrets, sister."

Cornelia couldn't hold back the light snort, "You never do. You will address me as Viceroy here, Sub-Viceroy Euphemia. Because we're sisters we need to follow a stricter protocol."

"I understand." Cornelia definitely noted the exasperation in her sister's voice.

The magenta-haired sister smiled, the same-colored lipstick she wore in sharp relief on her paler, gorgeous face, before turning to her right, "Now then… your report?"

The man had a mustache that was connected to his sideburns. It made his face more than slightly goofy looking. The utter lack of a beard added to the hilarity, and it was only her iron control and her general mood the past few weeks that kept her from laughing. He crossed his right arm over his heart and bowed lightly, "Yes, my Lady. The first order of business is a welcome party we've arranged for your Highness and-"

Ahh… bureaucracy. How she absolutely _adored_ dealing with bureaucrats. She lifted her right arm up and the cocking of a pistol froze his words in his throat. The bang made the undisciplined soldiers of Area Eleven jump. None of her soldiers nor – to her immense pride – her stunning sister even twitched. The man started to tremble as the thinnest line of red opened up on his cheek and started spilling a light stream of blood. "Sloppy… senile… _corrupt_." She hissed, "I don't give a damn about a _welcoming party._ " She sneered at the man, who looked very close to wetting himself, "You have had nearly a **month** since that disastrous broadcast. Do you mean to tell me you've done _nothing!_ "

"Y-your H-Highness I-" The man – one of the highest officers in Clovis' retinue _stammered_.

"Where is Zero?" She asked, "What was my brother hiding? How many of the terrorist cells in this Area have you thinned out? What in the Emperor's name have you been doing?" The man finally lost control of his bladder. Both princesses wrinkled their noses in disgust, "Get this scum out of my sight!" She spat. One of her loyal Glaston Knights grabbed him and hauled him away.

"He is hereby stripped of all authority and any commendations given to him by Clovis. The rest of you leave as well." She smiled as Euphemia's own authoritative voice finished the man's humiliation, almost as an afterthought. She nodded approvingly to her sister. Teaching her how to command properly had been one of Cornelia's best decisions. She couldn't protect her sister all the time, so it was necessary. She knew Euphie didn't like it, but she wasn't about to leave her defenseless even for a second.

"Sub-Viceroy… report." Cornelia had to be firm with her sister in public. There were still untrusted men and women about, even if they were shuffling off in shame.

"Yes Viceroy. Unfortunately, most of my time has been spent putting out the fires Clovis started." She noticed with a hidden start that Euphie had stopped referring to Clovis as her brother. She could tell from the extra shininess in her eyes that she was being hurt by this as much as she had been. "If you'll pardon my language, most of Clovis' retinue was filled with bigger idiots than the one who just wet himself. Clearing out the trash has unfortunately become the number one priority."

Cornelia scowled. Oh, joy of joys. She'd be cleaning house for weeks. "Thank you for getting started. I do believe my patience will already be short enough without having to do it _all_ myself. Continue."

"Terrorist attacks have stepped up massively since that broadcast, though neither the Japan Liberation Front – by far the biggest group – nor Zero himself have had a single follow up. And with that mask, we have no leads whatsoever. We don't even know if he is actually a man or if he is a woman." Euphie sighed, "The people's morale has taken a huge hit. More than a few of our fellow Britannians have begun providing aid to the Eleven populace. The military is currently in shambles with the humiliation of the Purebloods, General Bartley's disgrace, and the utter rout Clovis experienced in Shinjuku."

Cornelia had to exercise her iron control to keep from biting her lip, "No, Zero is most likely a man. That build is very rare for a woman." She eyed her sister, her gaze turning curious, "I will admit I have heard nothing of the battle of Shinjuku. I was too busy in Area 18. How is it possible for the battle to have been a rout?" Euphie's eye twitched minutely. Cornelia suppressed a wince. That was rarely something she had seen, but she knew it was either due to utter exasperation or annoyance. It was just one of her little sister's tells. They had amused themselves with poker enough times for Cornelia to have cottoned on to that one. If _**she**_ was doing that with a _military matter_ , then perhaps she didn't want to know.

"It started off normally enough. The enemy had a single old Glasgow on their side, with almost everyone else on foot. Other than the Glasgow, whose pilot had to be at least as good a high-level Knight to survive as long as they did against squadrons of Sutherlands-" Here she and her Knights couldn't help but allow their eyes to widen in shock, "They were being stomped with ease. Then one of our Sutherlands somehow got stolen from what we've been able to guess, and the culprit led the terrorists to an incoming shipment of fresh machines. There was a lull in the combat, but once hostilities resumed, Clovis was defeated in under ten minutes."

Self-control be damned, " _What_?" She cried, aghast.

"Clovis ordered the encirclement broken." Euphie deadpanned. "Zero – as it was likely him leading the enemy – destroyed every single Knightmare we had in one fell swoop when Clovis fell for an obvious decoy."

Dead silence. Her loyal Glaston Knights… some of them had to be biting their tongues. Cornelia herself felt her own eye twitch. Now it was only her, her sister and her Knights who were present. All of the unwanted rabble had left. So she felt perfectly alright with her next words, "I need a drink…"

…

"How have you been holding up Euphie?" The two sisters had retired to the Viceroy's quarters. It had been more than a month since they had been able to hold and comfort one another and as far as they were concerned, that was a month too long. Now in the safety of her private rooms, they could be sisters. Euphie started to shake and she lunged for the darker-haired woman. Cornelia rubbed her sister's back and ran her fingers through her silky hair as her sister started to wet her almost-bare shoulder with her tears.

"H-how could he do it sister?!" Her voice shook, "Babies! He had babies shot in their mother's arms! When I went down to Shinjuku, I _saw_ the corpses!"

Cornelia let out a long, sullen sigh, "I don't know." She hated not having an answer for her sister. She hated the fact that she was unable to say a word for their departed brother. She felt a tear start falling from her own eye.

"Did we ever even know him?" Euphie cried, "He was an artist! He was a good person! What in the world was he hiding that would cause him to do that?"

"I don't know." Cornelia valiantly batted back her tears, trying to focus on the good memories but finding them as tainted as her lighter-haired sister, " _But I intend to find out._ " She lightly brushed her sister's hair with her fingers, "We need to sleep." She said heavily, after her sobs trailed off. She wiped her own eyes.

"Yeah," Euphie whispered, "You're going after a group tomorrow aren't you?"

"The Blood of the Samurai. Clovis had ample opportunity to eradicate them. He's had locations of groups for months and has done nothing." Cornelia confirmed. "So I do need some rest. I don't expect much trouble… but I've been wrong before." She said ruefully. Euphie giggled as they adjusted themselves. Completely contrary to what others would have expected out of them. Euphie liked being the big spoon and Cornelia was perfectly willing to indulge her.

 **-]|[-**

"So, Cornelia is here. Finally." C.C. looked askance at Lelouch as she said this.

"That's right." Kallen had her arms crossed, "Not even a day and she's already gone on the offensive. Your sister is efficient if nothing else." She let a wan little smirk grace her lips.

"That she is." Lelouch chuckled, "Poor Blood of the Samurai. They never stood a chance." He said – slightly mockingly, "How they survived this long is beyond me. Clovis had to have known where they were located. They were the biggest group in Central Japan."

"Perhaps he was just lazy." Milly shrugged, "They didn't even have Knightmares. They were never a _real_ threat, and they were so far from anything important that the most they could do was blow up some isolated depots. For all their size, they didn't do a whole lot other than blow a whole bunch of hot air."

"Lelouch-sama." One of the aides walked into the room, "She is here."

The girls blinked, "She? Lelouch, who is she talking about?" They watched as he broke into a giant smirk.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." He confessed, his grin the very definition of 'shit-eating.' "Kyoto made a very poor decision in giving me the information I wanted." The door opened and a tanned, blonde woman in a white lab coat walked in with her bust held back by a single button on her red dress shirt and a bra, "Rakshata Chawla… what a pleasure it is to meet you!" He stood and walked to the woman, giving her hand a kiss as the girls watched with their jaws on the floor.

Rakshata chuckled lightly as she took her hand back. She began to spin a thin, brown corn cob pipe between her fingers, "So…you're Zero. You're not quite what I expected." Rakshata said lazily.

"Lelouch Lamperouge, at your service." The exiled Prince introduced himself, "It is important that you not refer to this face by that name." He said with a hint of steel. Like Kallen, this was a gamble he and Milly had decided to roll the dice on. Unlike Kallen, he still had his Geass as a backup if things went wrong.

"Of course Lelouch. My mistake." Rakshata said easily, before he introduced the other girls.

"Lelouch!" Kallen had stars in her eyes, "Does this mean…?!"

Lelouch laughed, "When Kyoto sent us the information about the Guren Mark II, I also requested information on their creator…" The two of them took seats, with Rakshata reclining languidly in hers' and taking a drag from her pipe, "Night hadn't even fallen before I was on the phone with her."

"It was quite exciting." The Indian woman chuckled, "I was fairly impressed that you managed to somehow acquire my _personal_ phone. You cut out all the red tape you would have had to go through to contact me otherwise."

Lelouch smirked, "I have my ways." Or perhaps it was more accurate to say _Sayoko_ had her ways, "It didn't take too much to convince her that she was wasting her talents."

"Convince me?" Rakshata laughed lightly, "Please. The chance to mess with some of the Earl of Pudding's toys? As if I would miss that for the world. He has some nice ideas…but nowhere near as innovative as my own babies."

"Babies?" Milly mouthed to Kallen. The redhead shrugged.

Lelouch wrapped an arm around Milly, "And surely the number I showed you on our checkbook had nothing to do with it."

Here Rakshata's gaze sharpened and she grinned, "Oh yes, I shall have ever so much fun creating new children." She went back to reclining lazily, "I admit I'm also curious to see what you have managed to come up with before. Perhaps your old prototypes just needed a…motherly touch."

Kallen spoke up, "Does that mean the Guren has arrived as well?" She looked like a child who had just been told Christmas was coming early.

"Yes, my child is with me." Rakshata began to spin a key shaped like a red and white wing.

Kallen's excitement froze on her face for a moment, and she threw Rakshata a strange look, "You did put in an ejection cockpit right?"

"…" Rakshata blinked slowly, "Why in the world do you even have to ask?"

Milly giggled, "Mr. Pudding decided it wasn't important enough to fit into his budget."

"…That is so typical of him I almost want to go find him and laugh in his face." She looked incredibly amused. She tossed the key to Kallen, who clutched it gleefully. She really couldn't help herself. She leaned over and gave Lelouch a huge hug and a peck on the cheek. Rakshata threw the three of them an intrigued glance with an amused smile, "It is far more advanced than the Guren Mark I, another of the children I gave birth to. You better treat my child right. You don't want to know what a mother is like when she's… _unhappy_." Kallen was more than a little weirded out by her speech, but the key in her hand overrode that.

"I also have a lot of ideas for prototype weapons." Lelouch chuckled, "But the primary goal right now is to finish reverse engineering _Pudding's_ Blaze Luminous, and then completing the VARIS and the MVS."

Rakshata waved her hand as if smacking away a fly, "Nonsense. Pudding's toys won't be that difficult to crack. Especially not with the blueprints you claimed to have also stolen. I'll be able to follow his thought processes easily enough to their conclusions. Give me any ideas you've had in the past. If they're feasible, then we will make them a reality." She started for a moment, "Ahh, that's right." She pulled a set of PDAs out of her lab coat pockets, "Some homework for you all. I suppose you all will need to know what my precious child is capable of. It wouldn't do for a commander to not know its capabilities."

"My thanks." Lelouch caught the PDA stack and handed one to each of the girls. He stood as did the others, "Shall we get to it then?"

"Of course." Rakshata took one last drag from her pipe and put it out, slipping it into her pocket. She blew out yet another cloud of aromatic smoke, "I'm eager to get my hands on the pieces of this _Lancelot._ "

He smiled, and motioned with his arm, "Oh…" He stopped for a moment, "I don't believe I have to stress the fact that my face must stay secret once you meet the rest of us, do I?" All the geniality was gone from his face. Rakshata didn't show it, but she was a little unnerved at how quickly he could flip the switch.

"I was surprised you even allowed me to see it." Rakshata finally admitted with a sheepish grin, "I expected you to be far more secretive."

"And normally you would be right." He said with a trace of amusement, "Perhaps if I were on my own and keeping my identity secret from _everyone_ it would be a different story. Perhaps if this facility did not exist, it would be a different story. You would have nothing to go base any guesses off of. However, you are going to be our Head of Science." She was unsurprised by this statement, "Therefore you have to know where you will be working from. This is not a location that will be known to the rest of our cohorts. You will see all of us here quite often, and as I am both the head of this facility as well as the head of our order, I imagine it wouldn't have taken you too long to get suspicious and an even shorter amount of time to figure it out."

"Probably a good assumption." She said dryly, "Looking at you, I can see you're even a similar build to our masked man."

"Exactly. Keeping my identity hidden would have meant walking on eggshells, and it would mean that we all would have had to act differently whenever you were around. It was simply too much hassle for a single person who was too smart to not connect the dots anyway."

"I did bring my team with me." She admitted, and Lelouch inwardly released a sigh.

"And do any of these men and women have loose lips?" Milly asked, an edge in her voice.

Rakshata snorted, "Don't insult me young lady. Loose lips in our circles sink ships. I would never allow anyone I didn't personally trust near my children or my research. That's how you find yourself reading about your own accomplishments under another's name." She tapped her pipe into her palm, "You don't have to worry. Your secrets are safe with me. All I want to do is what you're already paying me for, so I really can't lose." She smiled reassuringly.

He smirked back, "Excellent. However, until I trust the rest of your team myself, try not to refer to me by anything but my name unless I'm in costume. Now…shall we?" Lelouch gestured, and she fell into step behind them.

 **-]|[-**

Milly had gone increasingly cold to the rest of her friends as the next two days had gone by. The rest of the council – bar Kallen who knew what was going on – was pretty worried about her, but followed Lelouch's orders to leave it be. Lelouch made sure she was as comfortable and as happy as possible, while also hiding his own increasingly dark thoughts. This would be the first time in half a decade that he would be laying eyes on that brunette bitch that his wonderful Milly had come out of. "So, why have you _summoned_ us here?" He _really_ could have gone half a decade more. Milly's mother was truly a nasty piece of work. She was a statuesque brunette with a haughty sneer on her face. Her blonde husband was sitting beside her with a vaguely pained look on his face. "Your father and I have better things to do than to entertain your fancies. If you weren't serious about your discovery about a way to be accepted back into the nobility, then you will be punished _. Severely._ "

Milly had a cold look on her face, "We're here to discuss you trying to set me up with someone _once again_ when you know full well I'm with Lelouch."

Milly's mother sneered at her daughter, "If your boy toy has no intention of revealing himself to the world then he is useless to us." The fact that Lelouch sat right next to Milly with a stone-cold, expressionless look on his face didn't stop her mother in the slightest, "All that concerns us is our return into the nobility. If you want to marry my daughter then I have a phone right here. I'm sure we could get connected to Pendragon in a hurry." She stared Lelouch dead in the eye as she said this, unconcerned for how much it hurt her daughter, "No? Then you daughter, will do what you're told. We have better things to do than for you to waste our time with him. We won't regain our status unless you marry into the nobility. That is all you are good for!"

"I don't _care_ about returning _you_ into the nobility." Milly shot back, "I never cared, nor do I care about you." Her voice was practically arctic, well used to her mother by now. There was no love lost in this family. After everything this whore had done to her, the only desire she had was to claw her eyes out herself.

"Then I will disown you." Her mother said with finality. "I'm still young. I can make another heir. And then you will be left with nothing. We've fed you, clothed you and raised you. Show some respect or I'll put you on the streets. I wonder how much he'll claim he loves you when you have to whore yourself out just to survive." And with that, she sealed her fate. No matter what happened here, Lelouch wasn't letting her walk out of this.

"Delores…" Her father spoke for the first time, an extremely uncomfortable look on his face.

"Silence Aldwin." Delores snapped. Her browbeaten husband flinched and looked away. Despite being the head of the Ashford Family there was just nothing of _his_ father in him. He was just a man who never had it in him to fight and who never should have become the family Head.

"You've done nothing!" Milly hissed. Lelouch half expected her to grow cat ears and claws like she had worn during Arthur's party, "Grandfather has done everything that you've claimed. He raised me while you were off drinking yourself into a stupor with the rest of your noble hussies and getting yourself _fucked_ by the servants! How Grandfather allowed dad to marry a whore like you escapes me!"

"How dare you!" Her mother rose to her feet and raised a hand ready to slap her daughter hard enough to knock a tooth or two loose.

She never got the chance. Kallen and Sayoko practically materialized next to them. Sayoko held a wakizashi to her throat. "You will not touch Milly-sama."

"Jeez Milly." Kallen's left arm was up holding a gun. The laser-pointer was aimed squarely between the bitch's eyes, "You were _understating_ things when you called her a Grade 'A' Bitch."

"I did warn you." Lelouch spoke for the first time during the meeting. His eyes had not left Milly's mother and his expression hadn't changed, but Milly knew him well enough to know that her mother was _dead_. She smirked with dark glee.

Delores was trembling and looking cross-eyed at the red dot on her forehead, before she swallowed and put on a look of bravado, "Y-you can't kill me! If I die you'll be revealed!"

"We will, will we? Let me guess. You have either an automated system or some sort of middleman to reveal me and Nunnally if they don't hear from you for a certain amount of time." Lelouch guessed in an indulgent tone, "How am I doing?"

"That's right!" She sneered victoriously, "So call off your bitches or I'll _forget_ the next check-in." Kallen and Sayoko dropped their weapons – though Kallen _really_ wanted to just pull the trigger for that comment – and stood to either side of the couch. Delores visibly adjusted herself before sneering at them, "So, you can be trained. Good to know."

Lelouch chuckled, before it turned into a dark, full on laugh. She took a step back, a chill suddenly running down her spine, "Oh, you are so laughably clueless it honestly hurts."

"What was that?" She put on a brave face, suddenly perspiring again.

"If you had agreed to cancel this engagement and allowed Milly to make your own choices, you might have walked away from this unscathed." A mad grin split across Lelouch's face, "That was before your threat to _my_ Milly. As it is, you both will **obey me** _ **.**_ "

"I'll nev-" The red light of Geass shone from both of her parent's eyes, "Yes, your Highness!" Their tones changed quickly.

Lelouch's smirk turned beyond just dark. This was going to be the most _vindictive_ use of his Geass ever. "You both will forget ever having come here. You will fabricate your own stories for what you were doing since you last spoke with Milly on the phone to inform her of the meeting with Earl Asplund. You will both destroy any means you have of revealing my sister and I, whether those means are electronic or through middlemen. Silence all leaks. In fact, once you are done with that you are both to permanently forget any and all memories you have of me and my sister from after we were sent to Japan. You will cancel the arrangement with Earl Asplund and cease all future attempts to use your daughter to regain your noble title. Delores, _you_ will find yourself only capable of arousal through taboo acts with dirty, foreign street rats and barnyard animals. In three months' time you shall get so drunk that you're four sheets to the wind. You will allow yourself to be publically caught in a beyond-compromising position with half a dozen bums and a _goat_."

Milly was staring at him with an open mouth. Kallen was staring at him as if she had never seen him before, and even Sayoko had a dumbfounded look on her face.

Lelouch sneered maliciously, "When you have your trial you will confess to any and all acts that could get you even a misdemeanor – that does not compromise us obviously – while having a mental breakdown apparently caused by your removal from the nobility. Only then… only when you have lost _everything_ do you have my permission to _**die**_. By this time, you-" he turned to Milly's father, "-will have already divorced your whore of a wife and passed on the lordship to your daughter. You will fade into obscurity, and _neither_ of you will ever darken our doorstep again. Now get the fuck out of my sight. You can return to normal when you're back in Pendragon."

As soon as the door to the room had closed, he heard Kallen breath out, "Holy SHIT Lelouch!" in utter shock.

"No one fucks with my family." Lelouch said darkly. As Milly lunged for him and tackled him to the floor, giving him the most passionate kiss of their lives, he thought, ' _No one._ '

Milly ecstatically back away and ripped his shirt down the middle. "MILLY!" Kallen squeaked, flushing bright red as she gazed at Lelouch's exposed chest from behind her fingers, "We're right here!"

"Then join us!" Milly crowed, "We're celebrating! I'm finally free! I NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT BITCH EVER AGAIN!" She slipped her school blazer off as Lelouch snapped her bra at the front. Kallen ran from the room.

 **-]|[-**

Her face was still blazing red when they finally showed up again. Lelouch's clothes were more than ruffled and Milly had a Cheshire grin on her face, her form immaculate. Despite the fact that by Kallen's count, they had to have been at it for the past _two hours_. Lelouch had his own smug grin, "I could hear it here!" Kallen twitched, "I couldn't get away!"

C.C. laughed as she walked into the room. "Maybe you should have taken their offer then." She said lazily. She walked past the two and stopped, taking a sniff. She smirked, "Well, you two certainly smell like victory." Kallen's blush – which had been receding slightly – burst back to supernova.

"Feel like it too! I feel like I'm walking on air! I'll never have to see either of those two ever again! I'll never have to worry about being sold off like a whore ever again! I can live my life the way _I_ want to, not how _she_ wants me to." Milly said in rapture, falling onto the couch and putting her head on Kallen's lap. "We should go do something fun! We could all go to the Sakuradite Allocation Meeting! It got delayed because of the mess Zero caused in the other areas and because they wanted to extend an invitation to Cornelia, so I managed to snag a couple more tickets and hotel rooms. It's a gorgeous location and we could probably use some relaxation before the rebellion starts in full." She took said tickets out of her pockets, "Why not right? We could get the entire Student Council to come with us. The weather this entire week has been unusually warm and the weekend is going to be hot, so we could go swimming in the lake!"

"I'll pass." C.C. said indolently, "I prefer the pool and beaches anyway. Last time I went in a freshwater lake I ended up with an amoeba in my head." All three of them cringed, "Yeah." C.C. deadpanned, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Who would?" Milly shivered, "Those things are horrifying. But Lake Kawaguchi hasn't ever been linked to those."

"All the same, I'll pass." She waved them off, "We can do something fun for me some other time. In the meantime, we were planning on getting Kallen's old cell together." She started filing her nails, "It's past time that we start preparing them to fill their roles." She grinned lightly, "Well, that and figuring out which dead end job Tamaki won't manage to fuck up."

"We'll be at _that_ for a while." Kallen smirked from the sofa.

"Bah!" Milly huffed, "That can wait till Monday. We haven't done anything fun in ages."

"The cat hunt wasn't fun?" Lelouch had an amused smile on his face.

"Shush you! I'm working here!" Milly pointed at him imperiously.

He chuckled, "You're right though. Once we have our first offensive, we will quickly find ourselves lacking free time." He turned to the redhead, "So, you up for it Kallen?"

"Why not?" She stretched, "It's been a while since I've been to the mountains."

"Then C.C., can we trust you to take my place as Zero while we're gone?" Lelouch asked.

"Sure, sure." She waved them off, "Have fun."

 **-]|[-**

"This is the first time I've ever left the settlement." Shirley told the group. She was entirely unaware of the hundreds of deadened Japanese underneath their train, suffering on refrain and lacking food.

Milly was sadly all too aware of that fact, as was Kallen. She comforted herself in the knowledge that one day soon that would all change. "Really? You've never once been interested in seeing the mountains? This is a beautiful country you know."

Kallen smiled from her place beside the blonde, "You've been missing out then Shirley. The nature here is very relaxing. I like going on trips when I'm sick. It really helps."

"Daddy is pretty protective…" Shirley mumbled, poking her fingers together.

"Ah!" Nina gasped and scrunched her pants up in her fists when they entered a tunnel.

Kallen grasped one of her hands gently, "Hey, don't be scared Nina…" She gave her a warm smile, "We're right here with you." Initially Kallen had liked the girl the least out of all of the Student Council. Her xenophobia was more than a little hurtful, and exasperating. She had thought that Nina was just a standard Britannian, but she had later learned that she had a real reason for her fear. She didn't have many of the details, but apparently something terrible had happened in the petite girl's past.

Milly did the same, grasping the green-haired girls' other hand, "We'll be with you the entire time, okay?"

Nina tried to put on a brave smile, ecstatic that her friends truly cared, "O-okay."

"Did I miss something?" The door slid open with a whirr and Lelouch walked in, carrying a number of drinks and a couple snacks with him.

"S-sorry." Nina mumbled, "I got scared when we went in the tunnel."

Lelouch put the tray down and lightly scratched her head, "I'm sure they've already said it, but we'll make sure nothing happens. You'll be safe with us." He smiled as the girl finally relaxed, nibbling into a sweet roll he had given her.

…

"Arghblrgh." Kallen glared at the laughing blonde. They had all been relaxing in the water when Milly had suddenly splashed at her, "Why you little!" Milly ran away deeper into the lake as Kallen gave chase, splashing right back.

Shirley giggled, "Jeez, Kallen wasn't kidding when she said this place was relaxing. She looks so lively!" She and Nina were in one-piece bathing suits, while Milly and Kallen were in two-piece ones. Milly was on full display in a tiny light-blue bikini while Kallen had a black skintight rash guard with a bikini bottom. Shirley was chagrined to realize that Kallen – despite her weakness – actually had a better body than she did.

"She sure does." Lelouch was staring at the two glistening girls playing in the water with steam practically shooting from his nose.

Shirley pouted as she realized that, ' _Why can't he stare at me like that!_ ' She cried inwardly.

Lelouch smirked and dipped into the water, kicking off and shooting like a torpedo towards the two laughing girls. "AHH!" He cried as he grabbed the two, getting squeaks of fear out of them.

"Lelouch!" Kallen yelled, "I was winning!" She said from her spot on his right shoulder.

"Oh please. I was clearly ahead!" Milly scoffed, but she had a giant grin on her face. "Oh, I'm sure going to miss this." She sighed, making sure her voice wouldn't carry, "Times like these are going to be in short supply soon."

"Yeah…" Kallen mumbled. She could hardly believe it herself, but since she had been pulled into their insanity she had honestly come to like her new friends. It was a position she hadn't thought she'd ever be in. They swam a little deeper, until they were about chest-deep in the water, and Lelouch pulled both of them close. Kallen blushed again, "Leloummph!" This wasn't the first time since the cat hunt that Lelouch had kissed her. She honestly should have been used to it by now, but he still caught her by surprise. He pulled away just as quickly, and her flush deepened because she knew it had left her wanting more. Then her eyes widened as Milly leaned forward and claimed her lips too. "Milly!" She squeaked, blushing heavily.

"Hey guys!" Kallen was thankful for the distraction as Shirley called from the shore, "The barbeque is ready!" Shirley was waving at them. Lelouch's head had been in the way, so she was entirely unaware that her best friend had just stolen a kiss from her other friend. It still didn't stop the jealousy though, since they had to have been pretty close together for the position the trio were in.

"Coming!" Lelouch yelled back, before pecking the both of them and starting to backstroke.

Milly followed quickly, trying to grab her boyfriend's leg with an evil grin. Kallen stood there for a few second more, willing her seemingly-perpetual blush to go away, "They're going to be the death of me." She mumbled, twitching lightly. She finally took off at a sedate pace, wanting some time to cool her head. By the time their bonfire went out, it was already turning to dusk.

…

Kallen twitched, "Milly…" Her voice had a dangerous edge, "What's this supposed to be?"

"Our room for the weekend!" The blonde chirped cheerfully, putting her bag onto the dresser.

"I gathered that." Kallen stated, a vein popping up on her head, "What I meant was WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE BED?!"

"Oh that?" Milly waved her hand negligently, "Don't worry. I made sure it was king sized."

"That's not the problem!" Kallen's eye twitched, "Nina and Shirley got two twins!" She would have gone on, except she found herself in whirling around in Lelouch's arms. She didn't even bother two try to squeak his name. She knew what was coming. Unconsciously, her arms wrapped around his neck as they kissed. She moaned as he started slipping her some tongue for the first time, and she fumbled in inexperience at the new sensation. Her eyes widened as she felt his hands on her thighs gripping tightly and then lifting her into the air. She wrapped her legs around his waist to keep from falling. She let out a tiny, 'oof' as he laid her gently on the bed, before she felt more weight deform the mattress to her left.

Lelouch pulled back, and her flush came back as she noticed the thin strand between their lips. He smirked at her and then leaned back down, nipping at her earlobe and then trailing kisses down her neck. She moaned as his tongue stuck out and licked a spot, before sucking on it gently. Kallen's eyes widened before they closed again as Milly took Lelouch's place on her lips. She unconsciously started rolling her hips, the unfamiliar stimulation starting to get to her. She broke away from Milly, panting hard, "J-just kissing!" She managed to squeak out, her face flaming red.

Milly smiled down at her, "Of course. We weren't planning on that for the weekend anyway."

"Y-you weren't?" Kallen blinked.

"No." Lelouch chuckled, "We're not even official yet. We figured you wouldn't want to."

"O-official?" She gaped, "But…?"

Milly chuckled, "We're Britannians dear. It's perfectly legal." Kallen's eyes bulged as she caught their meaning, but before she could say another word, she was being kissed again.

But Kallen had enough of being teased. She used her strength and flipped Lelouch onto his back, straddling him. "You two are done teasing me! My turn!" Milly grinned as Kallen _finally_ took the initiative and started kissing Lelouch passionately.

She dipped and continued Lelouch's former assault on her neck and jawline. "Little less tongue Kallen." She gave her a light spank and nipped at the redhead's ear. The redhead jumped, but followed the instructions. She was a novice after all. "Good girl."

The three lost track of time, not knowing how long had passed. They dozed off, exhaustion finally getting to them. When she woke the next morning, Kallen had honestly thought she'd been having a – albeit pleasant – dream. It only took a little bit of shuffling to realize she was still being held by Lelouch, with Milly on the other side. The sun had just started rising, but Kallen realized she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Eager for some payback, she started to tease Lelouch awake. After some breakfast and a shower for all three of them – separately in a red-faced Kallen's case - they resumed their activities from the previous night since they still had a bit of time before meeting up with Nina and Shirley. Kallen had found herself with her head on top of Milly's pillowy breasts nibbling on his neck as Lelouch made out with the blonde, when all of a sudden Lelouch stopped and backed away, "Lelouch?" She asked, the haze fading slightly.

"Quiet!" Lelouch hissed, and instantly the pleasurable haze vanished from both girls. Lelouch looked far too alert and dangerous. That's when they both heard it. Yelling. Screams. Their eyes widened as something crashed into the door. The wood bowed inwards before snapping back. Lelouch whirled around as a second impact knocked it open and it smashed into the wall. A Japanese man walked in, sneering at the three Britannians. He was holding an assault rifle, " **Obey me!** " Lelouch snapped, his good mood ruined. He didn't let the man have a word in edgewise. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Private Iseki Akihiko of the Japan Liberation Front! We are taking over this hotel!"

"Does the government already know about this?" he asked.

"Yes, the initial message was sent out immediately upon our capture of the most important hostages. Now we're rounding the rest of you up." The man droned out.

Milly groaned and got up, Kallen following in a murderous mood. Now she was hot and bothered and they were getting interrupted. They took turns kicking the man in the crotch for his trouble. The Geassed man wouldn't even react until later, "So much for our vacation." She snarled.

Lelouch hadn't wasted any time and was already on the phone. "C.C., the JLF is taking the convention center hostage. For now, we're going to have to play along."

"You just have no luck at all, do you boya?" C.C. was heard cackling on the other end. A tic mark appeared on all of their heads.

"Shut up, witch." Lelouch's eye twitched, "As annoying as this is, it will serve as the perfect moment for our debut. Get our men ready and get here as fast as possible. Bring two of our uniforms for yourself and Kallen." He smirked lightly, "I would be far more worried if it hadn't been for the broadcast. Nelia knows she'll have to walk on eggshells tonight. We have a little bit of time, at least. If push comes to shove, Kallen and I will start the party early." Kallen made sure her blades were ready and Milly hid her guns in the same way. She wasn't very good with swords, but she was an expert markswoman.

"Roger." C.C. hung up.

He glared at the man and punted him between the legs as well. The soldier grunted as he lifted an inch or two in the air, but otherwise didn't do a thing, "Where are your leaders?"

"Near the top of the tower. They're on the third-to-last floor." He said obediently.

"Let's go. Act as normal. If possible, you are to be one of the outer door guards. If you hear a commotion inside wherever you'll be keeping us that involves gunfire in any way, you are to immediately kill any other guards nearby and await further orders. Always radio your superiors that everything is normal, should anything happen and they request a status update." He and his girls put their hands up as the man's eyes cleared up.

The Japanese man snarled, wondering why his kintama hurt so much. His legs almost buckled for a moment, before he straightened himself up, "Let's go!"

 **-]|[-**

Oghi whistled as he entered the very large, red and gold trailer, "What's wrong? Hurry and get inside." Zero's calm, synthesized voice bid them to enter. He was lounging on a wrap-around style sofa with blue-green upholstery, his feet up on the coffee table. "This place will be our mobile headquarters until we have something better."

"Holy cow!" Tamaki was grinning as he looked around.

"Does this mean we're joining forces?" Oghi looked to him, "After so long without any action, I wasn't expecting it."

Zero's voice had a weird reverb effect, making it clear that a voice-changer was being used, "Of course. We are comrades after all." He said, "I believe I already told you that I fight for justice. Your regular actions prior to my arrival were meaningless. We've discussed this before."

Tamaki was heard snorting, "So we roughed up a few Brits. Who the hell cares?" The man mumbled, but Zero heard him fine.

"I _do_!" His voice rumbled, and the redhead flinched. "If you start thinking that all Britannians are the same and want to shoot them, then you are no better than your enemies. The innocent bystanders you've killed had nothing to do with your enemies. Most of them probably had families of their own. After our rescue of Kururugi last month, hundreds of Britannians have been providing humanitarian aid to the Japanese. They are _not_ all alike, and they do not all derive enjoyment from your misery." His voice gained a dark inflection that set the terrorist cell on edge, "So if you think I will allow you to harm innocents, then I shall kill you myself. I have no room for someone like that in my organization." The warning was loud and clear.

Tamaki swallowed heavily, sweat beading on his brow, "R-roger."

Oghi sighed, and decided to steer the conversation in a different direction, "So, how did you come by this?"

"I asked." Zero said, his voice turning amused, "A rather libertine nobleman enjoys indulging my requests. No strings attached, of course."

"Wow, it even has a second story!" Came a voice from upstairs.

Zero was again amused, "Yes, I had assumed you would have gathered that from the size. Evidently I was mistaken."

Oghi cracked a smirk. It was somewhat reassuring to know their new leader had a sense of humor, "So, what has been going on for the past month?"

"I have been acquiring more resources and funds." Zero said, "In addition, I've also been working on reverse engineering the Lancelot." When question marks popped up over their heads, he clarified, "The white frame that single-handedly smashed you all in Shinjuku." His voice was most definitely amused.

Oghi flushed. One of the rebels then noticed the television, "It even has a TV too? This place is great." He clicked it on, and the channel turned to the news.

Immediately, a voice that sounded slightly panicked blared through the room, "How are things looking at the scene?!"

A newswoman stood in front of a building, "I'm here in front of the Lake Kawaguchi Convention Center Hotel. The hotel-jackers have identified themselves as the Japan Liberation Front."

 **-]|[-**

The three were led into a large dining room and reunited with Nina and Shirley. The two were huddled together, with Nina visibly terrified. Lelouch's eyes hardened, and a light touch to Milly's arm had her understanding him perfectly. She immediately went to them and activated her Geass, wrapping her arms around Nina and forcing her to be calm. Kallen and Lelouch kneeled close by, side by side. They were whispering to each other, their eyes alert, "Two on the left wall from the door, two on the right. Two by the doors as well. One patrolling."

The room was large. Originally the JLF had planned this for the convention's original date. With it being delayed and the possibility of Cornelia herself attending, more people had decided to come. Originally, the hostages were all going to be put inside a smaller storage room and put in rows, but with this many people that was impossible. Instead, they were in one of the dinner rooms. The tables were all overturned and the room was a mess, but this allowed for the hostages to be put into groups rather than lined up one after the other. It gave the civilians the illusion that they would even be allowed leave if they cooperated.

"I'm Kusakabe of the Japan Liberation Front. This stand we're taking is for the freedom of Japan and our countrymen. Even though you are not soldiers you are still Britannians. You are the ones who rule and oppress us. Sit still, be quiet, and you'll be fine. If you don't..." The man trailed off in warning. "Now, arms on the backs of your heads. We are going to show you to the world, so Britannia knows to come and negotiate."

' _You_ _fool._ ' Lelouch thought angrily as he whirled around, so that he and Kallen were nearly back to back. He absolutely could _not_ have his face appear on live TV. ' _Nelia never negotiates with terrorists!_ ' He hadn't been noticed thankfully, and made sure that his face wouldn't be caught by the camera. He was looking around the room making plans, ' _Seven guards. Two close, two behind, two far, one patrolling.._ ' He mused, ' _Kallen would need to take the farthest two. All have assault rifles. Her Geass would be useful for dodging, but danger for civilians._ ' His thoughts ground to a halt as his eyes landed on another hostage. They almost bulged out of his skull when his brain caught up to his eyes, and he realized exactly who was in front of him roughly eight feet away.

Euphemia's eyes were trembling in their sockets as she stared at him, her mouth gaping. She was 'disguised' with a pair of glasses which had slipped down her nose, but it was undoubtedly her. Tears started to prickle at her eyes as she mouthed, "Lelouch?"

' _Shit._ ' Lelouch thought in slight worry, ' _I wasn't ready to meet with her yet! This goddamn trip was a disaster!_ ' He slowly nodded before he brought a finger to his lips in a shushing manner. Her lips snapped shut and then began to quiver, a single tear slipping from her right eye. She gave him a huge, watery smile, and started trying to shuffle over. He immediately stopped her, making sure that the guards weren't paying attention. Her expression turned hurt as he shook his head minutely, willing her to stay where she was. He couldn't have her in the way if things turned violent. Luckily for him the guards were more concerned with taunting some of the hostages and were only half paying attention to the entire room. He leaned back and started whispering in Kallen's ear, "My sister is here." He mumbled in irritation. Her eyes widened, "Euphie. We're safe for now since Nelia wouldn't dare risk her, but she saw me. I don't know how this will end up." Kallen held back a curse. This day just kept getting better.

 **-]|[-**

"Members of the Sakuradite Allocation Meeting – most notably Chairman James – were taken hostage along with several tourists and hotel employees. This footage was taken by the perpetrators. In it, you can clearly see Chairman James as well as some students." Indeed, large and small groups of hostages inside the room were being shown off on the camera. They all looked terrified and compliant to the armed soldiers in the room. But then one face in particular showed up on the screen.

"Lake Kawa- KALLEN!" Oghi gasped, racing to the screen. The rest of the group hurried over as well.

Over in his seat, C.C. was staring at the screen completely deadpan. ' _So much for the vacation._ ' She thought wryly from behind Zero's mask.

"Zero!" Oghi raced up to her, "We have to do something about this. K-"

"Kallen is there." Zero said, sounding almost lazy, "I already knew. I have a man on the inside currently." Oghi's eyes widened, "Minami! Tamaki! Upstairs you will find a number of cardboard boxes. Grab them and bring them down. Inside will be your new uniforms." She smirked as the men went and did as they were told.

Oghi took one of them out of the boxes, " I mean as far as gear goes it looks pretty hip but we're just a resistance group so..."

"Wrong!" C.C. said, knowing what Lelouch wanted to be said, "This is no longer a resistance group. We are Revolutionaries." The modulated voice was crisp and clear, "But more importantly, we are Knights of Justice! So suit up. We're going to rescue those hostages. All of them." She took out a phone and her eyes widened behind her mark as she read the message on it.

 _Euphemia is here. Cornelia won't attack. Use information to gain access past the blockade. Hijack a news van._

 **-]|[-**

General Andreas Darlton stood beside Princess Cornelia and his fellow Knight in controlled fury. He was listening to his subordinates report as well as seeing the images on the screens, "All bridges connecting to the hotel with the exception of the main one have been destroyed. Our attempted approaches from the air and water have been unsuccessful." The screens showed the destruction of two helicopters. The next was of an armed diver getting his head blown off and falling back into the lake, "There's only one route left that will allow us to develop a possible hostage rescue plan. The main utilities tunnel running directly beneath the Convention Center Hotel is our last option. If we go in through this route and destroy the foundation block, we can submerge the hotel. Since the tunnel was also built to handle supply deliveries, it should be able to accommodate Sutherlands. Even if the enemy has taken precautions it should be no problem." They watched the screens as the Sutherlands activated and started racing down the maintenance shaft.

…

They were expected. The Japanese had rigged four Glasgows and a giant cannon into a massive weapon designed to defend in tight corridors. It was an extremely powerful siege weapon. "Enemy detected! As expected, they're moving through the underground tunnel!"

"Roger that. Raikō secondary startup! Both quad-linkage legs locked. Super Electro Magnetic Shrapnel Cannon voltage confirmed. FIRE!" The gun crackled with electricity and whirred, before shooting out a single giant projectile at blistering speeds. The single shell broke open in the air and launched two dozen hardened steel ball bearings down the tunnel. The Sutherlands tried their hardest to dodge, but their machines just weren't agile enough. Shredded metal was all that remained.

…

"Wiped out?" Darlton ground his teeth together.

"It looks as though they've modified Glasgows into a linear cannon." His subordinate said professionally, though he sounded shaken.

One of the aides spoke up, "Then there's no way we can break through. What do we do now? If we release the political prisoners as they demand..."

"Unacceptable!" Cornelia spat for the first time. Outwardly, her appearance was immaculate. Anyone who truly knew her though, knew she was a mess inside, "We will NOT legitimize these terrorists!"

Guildford bent down and whispered into her ear, "But, Princess Euphemia, she's..."

"I know!" She hissed, "Damn it I know!" She hammered a fist into her throne, ' _Please Euphie! Please be safe!_ '

Darlton spoke again, "Thus far it appears that none of them have discovered that fact. If they learn that Princess Euphemia is among the hostages, they'll undoubtedly use her as a bargaining chip. She went there just to observe, so she isn't registered along with the other guests thankfully. If she can keep her head down, she shouldn't be discovered."

Cornelia cringed, "Darlton what have you done? _Euphie_ keep her head down?"

Darlton seemed to realize what he had just said…and slapped a hand to his face.

 **-]|[-**

By now, night was starting to fall. As expected, they were still alive. Euphie's presence had both taken the edge off his mind as well as worried him. He had _not_ prepared for her meeting him this early. Things could very well end up turning into an unmitigated disaster, and he really didn't want to use his Geass to take control of her. However, her presence had ensured that they would survive, as Cornelia would never risk her life. She had tried multiple times to come to him, and every time he had to wave her off. Her increasingly angry, puffed up face was as adorable as he remembered. He suspected he might be getting walloped at some point.

But while they may have been safe from the Britannian side… he had miscalculated the patience of the Japanese. After nine hours, the JLF had started getting restless. They had beat back many attempts at rescue by now and they were getting more than a little irritated with Cornelia. The tipping point came when a single soldier walked into the room. He wore an officer's coat rather than the body armor the rest of the soldiers were wearing. He walked up to a man and hauled him to his feet, before leading him out of the room.

 **-]|[-**

Despite all orders to the contrary, Suzaku was sitting in the ready-and-waiting Lancelot's cockpit. He had the outward appearance of someone calm, but inwardly he was pleading for a peaceful resolution to this conflict. So many of his friends were being held hostage now. How could he possibly be calm knowing they might die? How could he possibly be calm knowing he'd have to tell Nunnally that he couldn't save her brother? That she was now alone in this world… He clenched his fists on his arm rests, ' _Damn it all! I know I can get past with the Lancelot! Why won't they let me?!_ '

"Suzaku? Those teenage hostages are friends of yours from school aren't they? They're still negotiating so let's not give up hope." Miss Cécile told him. She was behind the seat fiddling with something.

Suzaku forced himself to relax, letting out a deep sigh, "I have faith in the system." Suzaku told his beautiful superior, "I prefer the logic of systems to personal emotions." A bold-faced lie, even to himself. He had the horrible feeling that something terrible was about to happen. But despite that, he forced himself to believe his own words. They couldn't fail. They just _couldn't._ Suddenly he gasped, his eyes widening, "Miss Cécile! Look!" The Lancelot's Factspheres zeroed in on the very top of the Lake Kawaguchi hotel. Several Japanese men holding guns were pointing them at a Britannian man, "No…" Suzaku breathed out, horrified.

"No way!" Cécile gasped, "They're not really going to-"

"Don't…" Suzaku's breath caught in his throat as the man was forced to take a step forward, "Don't do it!" The man fell off of the building, and all of the composure Suzaku had pretended to have shattered, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

He and Cécile were practically insensate as Kusakabe's voice came through all of their radios, "Our demands have gone unanswered. Therefore, we will throw one hostage from the roof every thirty minutes until our terms are met. For the sake of the hostages… the negotiations better be in good faith."

 **-]|[-**

And that was when Milly made her mistake. The light usage of her Geass had no effect on her throughout the day. She had been managing to keep Shirley and Nina especially somewhat calm with it. Now though, she had to know what they were about to do, so she expanded her range to follow the man's emotion. Unwittingly, she stopped using it on her two friends too suddenly, and because she had been using it to suppress an emotion for so long…

It just rebounded harder than it would have initially. Nina immediately started to tremble more, but Milly was too horrified to notice.

Milly watched the man in a horrified trance as he was led to the elevator and his fear started to spike higher and higher. By the time he was at the roof, he was struggling and had guns pointed at his face. He was begging for his life, pleading for mercy. Milly cut her Geass off in revulsion as the man started moving down. Lower. And lower. She didn't want to feel the end. She choked back a sob as she threw a glance at Lelouch. He got the message.

Lelouch ground his teeth as he realized what this meant. The hostages were going to be executed. The JLF had delivered their ultimatum. "They executed him." He murmured to Kallen. He felt her squeeze his hand in fury. "We're going to have to break cover. There's too much risk here. One of us may get grabbed next."

She relaxed her fist, "And the witnesses?"

He sighed deeply, "I hope I won't need to Geass any of them in the future."

"When?" She whispered back.

He threw a glance at Milly, and tapped Kallen's wrist. "Kallen, switch with me. If we act, you'll need to take out the farthest two."

"Understood."

"Sumimasen!" Lelouch called out, getting the attention of the guards. He continued in Japanese, "May we stretch our legs, sir?" The guard eyed him in shock, before grunting out that they had ten seconds. Lelouch and Kallen stood and stretched out the kinks in their legs, surreptitiously moving closer to their main group. They sat again in a way that they would be able to explode forward if needed, with Lelouch now facing towards the corner of the room near the doors and Kallen facing the corner near the farthest guards. She caught sight of Euphemia for the first time, and she had a quizzical look on her face. She and Lelouch had been sending each other looks during the whole situation, and now they wouldn't be able to. She bit her lip, wondering what was going on.

Lelouch caught Milly's eye and mouthed to her, "The two near the door. They're yours." Milly's eyes widened before she nodded seriously, and adjusted herself to be able to quickly push Nina away if needed.

It was a good thing that they had been preparing for this since the morning, because their moment came quicker than he had planned for. "E-eleven…" Nina whispered before she could stop herself.

Milly, Lelouch and Kallen all tensed, knowing that the shit was about to hit the fan. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" The soldier that had been walking by the group roared in fury. Nina squeaked and shrank into herself in fear, burrowing into Milly, "Don't call us Elevens! We're Japanese, dammit!"

Milly glared at the man, "Please! We know! She's just scared! Lay off her!"

"Then correct her, we're not called Elevens!" He spat at the blonde.

"Fine! We will!" Shirley brought herself closer into the group and yelled at the man.

Evidently he didn't like their tone, "How dare you speak like that to me? You three, come with me to the next room and I'll teach you a real lesson!"

Nina immediately went from terrified to completely hysterical. She started shrieking, "NOO! NOOOOO!" She sounded as if the very demons of hell were grasping at her ankles, threatening to drag her under.

And as he was reached forward to grab her arm and pull her to her feet, they had their cue. Milly's Geass blazed into her left eye and all seven of the soldiers felt a wave of terror crash into their minds, slowing their reactions. Lelouch and Kallen were filled with a sense of urgency. At the same time, she shoved Nina away from her with a mental apology. Nina's eyes went wide in betrayal as she fell, and it was as though she saw what happened next in slow motion. In the same motion that her friend had shoved her away, a brutal look came across her face and a gun slipped out of her sleeve. Nina's jaw dropped as time seemed to speed up again as Milly brought the weapon to bare.

At the same moment, Lelouch had surged to his feet and charged at the guard. He was slow in bringing his rifle around, and Nina was perfectly positioned to see Lelouch's bright white, gleaming blade slide out from under his sleeve and cleave the rifle in two. Shirley's mind had caught up and her eyes bugged out as she realized one of her closest friends had a _sword_ popping out from his sleeves.

Kallen hadn't been idle either. Her Geass activated with but a thought and the world slowed down for her. She watched shocked realization fly across Euphemia's face right up until she was out of Kallen's sight. She charged forward, flicking her wrists and sending her red wakizashi-sized daggers into her hands. The farthest guards had the most time to react, and managed to bring shaking rifles to bare. They roared and filled the room with the sound of gunfire. Kallen saw their paths in her red-hazed vision.

As the first bullet approached, she sliced cleanly through it. To the outside world, she was moving so quickly she was a blur. It was only later on that they would realize that her Geass did not in fact slow the world down for her. No, it sped up her speed of _thought and perception_. The electrical impulses were firing inside of her far faster than they normally could have, and it was cutting her reaction time to superhuman levels. As such, when she sliced the bullet she had done so with a plan in mind. The two halves separated and whizzed past her head, finding exactly the targets she had wanted. The right half barreled straight through the forehead of one of the guards, splattering his brains against the back wall. The left half sliced straight into the left arm of the other one. The two guards fell to the floor, but only one was able to scream. She continued forward, now deflecting bullets harmlessly upwards and out of the way rather than cutting them.

Milly in the meantime had zeroed in on the two guards by the doors. She pulled the trigger just twice and fire flashed in front of her, escaping from the barrel of her gun. Two shots, two kills. The guards crumpled to the floor, their cerebral fluids coating the doors and the walls. She turned to aid Kallen as Lelouch brought his left blade to bare and speared it through the chest of the guard who had threatened Nina. Milly shot a third time, but she had a poor angle this time. The bullet race past Kallen and rammed into a casing just as it was being ejected. The casing was forced back into the rifle and jammed it. Kallen threw one of her wakizashi and it spun though the air like a buzz saw, cutting off the man's leg at the knees.

Lelouch put the guard he had kabobed in between him and the last guard on the left side of the room from the door, just as he got to his knees and brought a shaking pistol forward with his uninjured, trembling arm. The bullets impacted his shield's bullet-proof vest and sent ceramic dust sprinkling to the floor, rather than the red droplets that would have rained otherwise. Lelouch waited for the clip to run out before throwing the dead man to the floor and running forward. His knee crashed into the man's sternum with a sickening crack and forced him bodily into the back wall. The drywall cracked and he was stuck inside the hole as blood flew from his lips.

He whirled around, a shuriken flying into his hand from inside his sleeve. He threw it just as the last unharmed guard alive ran out of bullets in his clip. Kallen rushed forward as he was bringing another up from his belt, terror in his eyes. The shuriken flew true and knocked it out of his hand. Kallen leapt into the air and did a spinning kick. Her foot crashed into his jaw and threw his head backwards, breaking his neck instantly. His head impacted the drywall and broke through it. His body slumped, attached to the wall in a macabre display of violence. The guard at her feet with the amputated leg tried to stab her – his last dying resort. Kallen knocked the knife right out of his hands with her dagger. She brought her blade up and pointed it at his eyes, her left hand on the hilt and her right behind the pommel. She drove it forward and pierced his heart, just as Lelouch had turned back around and done the same to the last one on his side.

Shirley and Nina were whirling around, looking at the three of them as if they had never seen them before. "M-m-Milly?" Shirley gasped, her hands around her lips, "L-Lulu? Kallen? What…"

Finally, the three of them slumped. During the commotion, all three had heard the slightly muffled gunfire from outside the room, and the two following thumps of bodies hitting the floor. Milly let the gun drop and closed her eyes, composing herself. While Lelouch and Kallen had both taken lives before, this had been her first time. She bit her lip and trembled. Lelouch straightened and let out a dismayed sigh. What a goddamn waste of life. Kallen's Geass faded from her eye and she immediately slumped to her knees, panting as if she had just run an entire marathon full speed. Her stomach was growling and begging for food, much harder than it had been a scant few seconds ago. Sweat was pouring from her in rivulets.

He swept his arms through the air and the blood on his blades slid off, peppering the ground. The blades retracted into his sleeves and he walked with a purpose over to kneel next to Milly, putting a concerned hand on her shoulder. The girl's lip quivered and she reached up, grasping it tightly. He gave it a gentle kiss when Shirley spoke up again, "Wh-who are you?!" Her tone was terrified and her eyes were watering, "Lulu… Lulu, Milly and Kallen would never…!" Tears started falling from her eyes and she started to shake.

"You… you saved us!" Nina on the other hand was looking at the two in awe.

Lelouch smiled at her and went closer, placing a hand gently on the dark-green-haired girl's head, "We promised we wouldn't let anything happen to you, Nina." He said softly. She started to tear up too, and she flung herself into their arms, sobbing. He rubbed her back gently as Milly finally stopped shaking. She actively joined the hug, thinking to herself, ' _This is how I'll get through this…knowing my loved ones are safe._ ' She put a gentle kiss on Nina's cheek.

The crowd started to cheer and get up, and Lelouch immediately moved into action, "Remain seated!" He stood and looked about the room, "We're not out of the woods yet." The excitement turned to dismay as he took command, "Stay calm and stay put. We don't know the situation right now."

Euphie couldn't take it anymore. She jerked her arm away from her aide and stood. She looked at him cautiously, hope and dismay mixed emotions on her face, "Lelou… is it really you?"

Lelouch sighed, and gave her a wry grin, "I missed you too, Euphie." Hope won out on her face and she raced forward, tears streaming from her eyes as she leapt into his arms. He squeezed her tightly as her pleasant scent invaded his senses, "I missed you too."

"Who…who is she?" Shirley asked cautiously. "Lulu…why? How?!"

Lelouch sighed, going over his options in his head. This day had gone about as bad as he ever could have imagined. The only way it could possibly get worse was if Nelia saw him. He truly wasn't ready for that. He could not afford to meet her as a brother. She would just try to do to him what she did to Euphie. No, he had to meet her as an _equal_ , and the only way to do that was to make sure Euphie kept it secret. But he did not want to use his Geass on her like this. Not on one of the few people he actually cared deeply about, ' _So much for a goddamn secret identity._ ' His right eye twitched in annoyance. He tapped Euphie so she would back off slightly, and then left her embrace. She looked a bit hurt, which he forced himself to ignore. Kallen had finally managed to get off the floor and had tiredly walked over to them as Lelouch pulled out his phone, "Where are you?" He asked immediately.

"Shit hit the fan, boya?" C.C. sounded amused on the other end.

"You have no idea." Lelouch ran a hand down his face in exasperation.

"We just stole the news van. We're headed to the blockade as we speak." She replied.

Lelouch bit his tongue lightly, "Alright. When you get past that and the JLF try to bring you to Kusakabe, speak with him and say that you suspect they have a more important hostage than they know. Delay the meeting with him and come find us. We'll be in the room we booked for myself, Kallen and Milly. You know what to do." He hung up, knowing he had very little time to waste.

"What's going on Lelouch?" Euphie asked, her gaze now sharper as she stared at him. She had to stop herself from backing away, realizing that something far bigger was going on than she knew. Nina and Shirley both looked puzzled.

"Not here." He said, "Let's go girls. Get behind me."

Euphie blinked in befuddlement, as did two of the other girls, "B-behind you?" Nina asked.

"We don't have time." Kallen said, helping Nina up gently and walking her over to the door. Nina immediately tensed up as she realized they were going to go near the puddles of blood, but Kallen's grip on her hand was reassuring. She blushed lightly, thinking about how brave the three of them had been. Milly dragged a listless Shirley along, and Lelouch pulled Euphie back into his arms.

"Lelouch, what?" She started to ask, but had to stop as he put her head in the crook of his neck.

"Look at me!" He yelled, and all of the wary hostages did as they were told, including Euphie's aide who was very much wanting to jump up and follow her liege. It really was too bad her legs felt like jelly. He let out one last sigh, before his voice turned authoritative, " **Forget all you have seen here, including our faces and names. As far as you are concerned, you were rescued by the Black Knights. You will sit here silently until they come rescue you, and then you may return to normal.** "

Euphie's eyes went wide. What the hell was her brother saying? Then her jaw dropped, utterly flabbergasted as the room chanted, "YES, MY LORD!" She wrenched herself from his arms and looked around. The entire room – including her aid – was doing exactly as he said, and were staring sightlessly at the walls. They barely moved. They didn't even react when she snapped her fingers in front of one of their faces.

"…Lelouch… What in the?!" She started to say, with Nina and Shirley gaping behind them as well.

He grabbed her hand and started walking from the room. He sighed, "Just a little patience girls. I'll explain everything soon. Kallen take point!"

"Yes sir!"

"What was that?!" Nina couldn't help but blurt out.

Milly snorted, "You're usually better at following instructions, Nina." She poked the girl, who began to blush. The three then fell silent, not noticing the three Revolutionaries throw each other gazes, as well as directing their eyes towards Nina. Her reaction to that bastard's words had been telling. What the hell had she been through when she was younger?

 **-]|[-**

"How inconsiderate." C.C. said blandly as the line went dead, "He didn't even say goodbye." All of a sudden, Gloucesters started surrounding the news van. She kept driving it forward, and the machines followed, almost like an escort. A brighter purple Gloucester with a white cape screeched to a halt in front of the news van.

The cockpit backed out of the machine's humpback and Cornelia stood from it, "So…we meet at last, Zero."

"I only wish it under better circumstances, Princess." C.C. said, the voice changing it to Zero's deep, dulcet, echoing tones. "You are as beautiful as the rumors stated."

Cornelia raised an eyebrow, "Flattery will get you nowhere. I've been searching for you."

C.C. snorted lightly, "By blowing up Japanese bases around the country?" She said in amusement, "I do hope you did not actually believe it would be that easy."

Cornelia almost quirked a grin. Instead, she leveled her sword-gun at Zero, "No, I did not. Did you perhaps come here to join your allies in the JLF?"

"These murderers my allies? It's a good thing I have thicker skin or I might even be offended." C.C. said, "No, I intend to rescue these hostages and extract a pound of flesh for the man who already died tonight."

Cornelia stopped and thought. Allowing Zero to pass could buy them some time until the next hostage was executed. She would no doubt have another opportunity to take him, "Tell me Zero… What was my brother hiding… and do you think it enough to save you from _me_?" For the first time, she allowed the anger at her brother's death to bleed through, "Despite what he did, he was still my brother. I _should_ take your head right now."

C.C. hadn't expected the conversation to go like this. She had expected more anger. Lelouch had apparently misread his sister, "That is a lengthy topic and not one to be discussed in public…" She said, "Especially when lives hang in the balance. I have only two things to say on the matter; First, Bartley was complicit in Clovis' dealings. If you don't know by now, then you were asking the wrong questions." Cornelia cursed in her head. Bartley had already been shipped off to Pendragon. He was beyond her reach now. "The second is what Clovis told the masses and what he told the army. To the Knight Police, he said that medical equipment was stolen. To the army, he said that _poison gas_ was **stolen**." She smirked, knowing that the next words would hit the woman hard, "And that was the _cover story_."

Cornelia did not react outwardly, but inwardly fury had started to boil inside of her. She was not unaware that her father was a bastard. There was a _reason_ she barely let her sister out of her sights. She feared what he would do to her precious Euphie if she left her unattended, and she was _terrified_ of what he would do to Euphie if Cornelia did not act as he wanted. He had no compunctions at all in doing anything he needed to in order to get what he wanted. She knew that she was as expendable as all of her other siblings. Lelouch and Nunnally had taught her that. And despite that, even her bastard of a father had never broken the Chemical Weapons ban. For Clovis to have used **that** as the _cover story_ … "Damn it all…" She whispered.

C.C. gave her just a few second before speaking once more, "But I'm afraid that we are short on time. Your sister and the rest of the hostages aren't going to save themselves." She almost broke character and laughed at the irony in that statement. She could feel her contractors perfectly well, and knew that they had just violently executed the guards in that room. They were currently moving.

As for Cornelia? She felt like she had just been punched in the chest. ' _How?!_ ' She screamed inside her own head, ' _How did he know?_ ' Because of Zero's cape, she couldn't tell that someone else was in that suit. "What do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking about." She stalled.

"Don't play games Princess. I know your history with hostage situations. If you let me pass… then I shall bring her back to you unharmed."

Cornelia bit back the snarl that wanted to rip itself from her lips. She was forced to grudgingly accept Zero as a worthy opponent. "Let them pass!" She turned and yelled at the blockade.

"Princess?" Guildford's eyes widened as he did as he was told, "Are you-"

"This will give us time." Cornelia said quietly to her Knight, "At the very least, it will give us time to prepare."

Zero was passing by her now, before a click of his heel had the van stopping, "Code R." C.C. said with a small smirk.

"What?" Cornelia's head snapped to Zero's form.

"Good luck, Princess." Zero clicked his heel twice more, and the van moved forward.

"Code R?" She asked herself, "What does that mean? Guilford!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Guilford already knew what his Princess wanted, and vowed to follow it through.

The Japanese were already opening the gates for Zero. When they arrived, Zero calmly walked down the hood of the van and jumped lightly in front of a pair of Japanese soldiers. "Zero! Our commander wishes to see you!"

"Yes, I imagine this van would have been a smoldering wreck right now were that not the case." Zero said wryly, "Contact him. I wish to speak with him."

The sound of static filled the air for a moment, "What is it? Has Zero arrived?"

C.C. seized the radio without a care in the world, "Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe."

"Zero!" The man sounded excited, "My men shall escort you to me."

"No, that won't be happening yet." C.C. said.

There was silence for a moment, "What is that supposed to mean, exactly?" There was a dangerous edge to his voice.

"This situation does not fit Princess Cornelia's Modus Operandi." It was actually quite annoying having her voice sound so manly, "She never negotiates with terrorists. By all accounts this hotel should have been levelled with all of you in it hours ago. I suspect you've acquired a far more precious hostage than you know. I will have your men escort me to them. I am well versed with important Britannian faces. Should my hunch be correct, I will bring them to you personally."

Now the man sounded excited, "Very well! Men, do as Zero says!"

"My thanks." She smirked as the radio went dead. Before the guards could react, she had seized them by the throats and lifted them into the air. The Geass symbol shone on her forehead. The men seized and spasmed, before falling limp in her grasp. She dropped them to the floor like the trash they were.

Her men started jumping out of the van and looking at the foaming men in shock, "Why did you-?"

"Did you think I said what I did for Cornelia's benefit?" She asked, "These bastards will die for what they did tonight." She stepped on each of their throats and sickening cracks rang through the halls, "You know your jobs for the night. Kallen will be joining you shortly. I'm told there was a commotion minutes ago and she was able to escape." She grabbed a briefcase from Oghi, "Get the explosives planted first. Kallen will take care of the hostages as soon as she gets dressed."

"Yes sir!"

 **-]|[-**

"Alright Lelouch." Euphie had her 'general' voice on now, though she was almost amused at the fact that none of the three were reacting at all. Nina and Shirley were both stiff as boards though, "I think I've been patient enough. What. Is. Going. On?" They had made it back to the hotel room they had been enjoying themselves in mere hours before this whole mess had started in a scant few minutes. They didn't have too long to discuss. Shirley and Nina were sitting on the bed, Milly on the dresser, and Kallen was on the computer chair, munching on some snacks at a rather silly pace.

Lelouch was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, "Where would you like me to start?"

"Uhm… excuse me?" Shirley raised a hand slightly, as if she were in school, "W…who is she? How do you know her, Lulu?"

Lelouch twitched, before chuckling, "Yes, I suppose that is a good place to start. Euphie, you already know Milly. The verdette is Nina Einstein, our little genius." Nina blushed and waved hesitantly, "The orange-haired girl is Shirley Fenette. Kallen is the feisty redhead." Shirley blushed as well and Kallen smirked, flipping him off. He smirked at Euphie who adopted a deadpan look, "Introducing Her Highness, Third Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, Euphemia li Britannia." He sounded entirely too amused.

Shirley and Nina gasped, "P-p-p-Princess?!" They stammered as one, before hurrying to curtsey, "Your Highness!" They remained stiffly on their feet.

"You did that on purpose." Euphie groaned, which got a chuckle out of him, "Settle down girls. I don't bite."

"V-vice president, how do you know Princess Euphemia?" Nina asked him, still half in shock.

Here Lelouch sighed, "I'm sorry girls, but I'm afraid I've been telling you a lie since you met me." Their eyes widened in shock, "My name is not Lelouch Lamperouge."

"Yes it is." Milly smirked over from her higher seat.

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, my _birth_ name is not Lelouch Lamperouge. Lamperouge is my mother's maiden name." He knelt and crossed his arm over his chest, "Lelouch vi Britannia… Former Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, at your service." Nina fell back onto the bed heavily, staring at him in shock.

Shirley on the other hand, slumped to the floor as she lost all feeling in her legs, "L…Lulu… This is a joke. You're joking right?" She asked desperately.

"I'm afraid not." Euphie had teared up and answered for him, "We all thought you were dead Lelouch! Sister said she saw you in your casket! How are you here?! How are you alive?!" Tears started streaming from her eyes, "It's been years! Why…why did you never say anything? You could have been back home in a heartbeat! You could have come back to us!" She yelled, before whispering as her head lowered, " _To me…_ " She trembled in sadness, hugging herself.

"No…that was never a possibility." Lelouch said heavily, wanting to go over and hug the adorable pinkette himself.

"Why not!" She yelled, her emotions going haywire.

He stared at her until she calmed, "Because OSI tried to assassinate Nunnally and me." There. The bombshell was dropped. Euphie backed up and fell heavily into an armchair, gaping at him. Nina and Shirley were no better, looking at him as if he had announced the world was ending tomorrow and there was nothing they could do otherwise. "We were staying at the Kururugi shrine. It was utterly out of the way and yet, the very first bombs of the entire war were dropped there."

"You…you're lying." She whispered, "Why…why would father?"

"Don't make the mistake of thinking that bastard gives a damn about any of us Euphie!" He snapped. She flinched, looking at him wide eyed. "All I asked of him… the only two requests I _ever_ made of him… were justice for mother's murder and for him to just go visit Nunnally in the hospital. His own daughter had been crippled and blinded and he never even went to see her! And what does he do instead? He cast us away as easily as he would take out the trash." Lelouch spat, his tone hard, "He wanted a war with Japan and he could hardly justify one without two tiny, bloodied shirts to wave about for the patriotic Britannians." All three girls were trembling in horror, shaking their heads in denial, "All of us…every single one of his children are expendable and disposable. Me, Nunnally, you, even Cornelia. At first we thought that there had been a mistake." He stopped, and amended himself, "Well, everyone else did. _I_ knew better. We were too far out of the way for that not to be the case, and my suspicion was only confirmed when OSI airdropped there inside Glasgows to make sure the job was finished. It was only luck and the lives of our guards that allowed me and Nunnally escape. The Ashford Family has been sheltering us ever since." Shirley's head snapped to Milly for the first time. Milly _knew?_

"…" Euphie was biting her bottom lip, "…Do you hate us, Lelouch?"

"You and Nelia…?" He asked in his cold tone, before smiling warmly, "Never. I could never hate you." She sighed in relief, "But most of the rest of our family?" He asked sardonically, "I can count the number of siblings I even know the name of on one hand. I know the names of even fewer of the empresses. As for Charles… I will piss on his grave daily."

She blinked after wrinkling her nose at his language, "B…but he's not dead."

"Yet." And there it was. Shirley was staring at him in disbelief, but Nina's mind was firing on all cylinders.

Euphie closed her eyes. She squeezed them shut tightly. When she opened them, she had nothing but sadness in her eyes, "Is that Lelouch or Zero speaking?" Shirley gasped in shock, though Nina was only mildly surprised now. With data provided, she had to admit there was a possibility.

He chuckled lightly, "You always were smarter than you pretended to be." Shirley's hands flew to her mouth in horror.

"You were far too prepared to fight." Nina mumbled, genius mind still whirling, "All three of you have clearly been preparing for this for a long time."

Euphie licked her lips to wet them, "When did you choose to become Zero? And… did you really kill Clovis? What did you do to those people downstairs?"

"That's right…" Lelouch said firmly, "Ever since I swore vengeance all those years ago, when Britannia invaded a country I had come to love – who cared for Nunnally and me more than most of our family – and slaughtered their people. If it hadn't been for Milly, I no-doubt would have lost myself to that darkness." He sighed, and Euphie threw Milly a thankful look. She remembered her old playmate fondly, "Because of her, I was able to _focus_ my fury rather than futilely raging at Britannia as a whole. We have been preparing ever since."

"I see." Shirley was looking at her two oldest friends as if she had never seen them before. Nina was sitting there, hurriedly analyzing the information being provided. Euphie licked her lips again, partially as a delaying tactic, "And what did you do to those people? Some kind of hypnosis?"

"That…" Lelouch started to say, "Is a long story…and it all starts with Shinjuku."

Euphie flinched, "So much death…such a senseless slaughter." She threw tearful eyes up at him, "Clovis… did he really…?"

"It was worse than you know." Lelouch interrupted her, and she flinched, "I know exactly what he was hiding. After I led the terrorists to victory and stopped his slaughter, I went to find him. Before he died, I used that power to ask him something. I asked him, ' _Do you feel any remorse?_ ' Do you know what he told me?" She met his eyes and shook her head, afraid of the answer. He snorted darkly, "' _Of course not. They were only Elevens._ ' Those were his exact words." Nina flinched and Euphie started to weep. Shirley was now simply staring listlessly at her knees.

"H-he was a painter! An artist!" Euphie sobbed from behind her hands, "How could he do such a thing?!"

"He did it because he could." Lelouch said, sighing sadly, "He wasn't made for command and he let the power go to his head. He started delving where he shouldn't have delved and he stained his soul in search of more power. That is the truth of the matter." He gave her a moment for her sniffles to stop, and gently wiped away her tears. She hugged him tightly. Being able to hold her Lelouch once more was a dream come true, despite the events of the day. She had always hoped and dreamed that it had all been a lie. That he and Nunna were still alive… "That day started like any other." He chuckled lightly, "I had just made yet another noble lick my boots in an 'unwinnable' chess match and walked away twelve million richer."

She jumped and backed away before smacking him in the arm, "Lelouch! Gambling?!"

He smirked, "Of course. Revolution isn't cheap and even if it were, Nunnally needed medical attention."

"She's alive too!" Euphie interrupted in joy.

"She is." He smiled, "But that's for another time. We don't have long. We were coming back to school when we were almost run over by a speeding truck." Kallen blushed, remembering the scene clearly, "The truck crashed to avoid us and I tried to go help them. I ended up falling into the back of the truck, and that was when I first saw it."

"Saw what?" Nina asked curiously.

"The poison gas container." Lelouch said flatly. They all gasped, "The truck I had fallen into belonged to terrorists. They had stolen the container from Clovis and had hightailed it out of the Settlement. We were followed by Knightmares and had to escape into the tunnels. That was when we crashed, and the container opened."

Euphie and Nina let out a couple squeaks of fear, "It opened?! But…but then how are you alive?"

"That's because there was never any poison gas at all." Kallen said bitterly from her chair.

Euphie jumped, "Then… _huh_?" She looked adorably confused. "But!"

"Euphie…" Lelouch sighed, "What Clovis was doing was so depraved… so immoral… so _inhuman_ that **Poison Gas** was a better cover story than the truth!Ill remind you that they claimed it was _stolen_ , so they considered the _illegal_ manufacture of a _banned weapon of_ _ **mass destruction**_ a better alternative than coming clean." Euphie started shaking her head in denial, and Nina was listening intently, "Clovis was experimenting on other people." You could hear a pin drop in that room. Shirley, Nina and Euphie were staring at him in utter revulsion. They all looked like they would be seeing their breakfast again, "He was trying to see if he could induce regeneration in an attempt to gain immortality. He was pumping people full of drugs and medicines and having his scientists cut them up and seeing if their techniques worked. He was literally _torturing_ people and trying to see what stuck. No Britannians obviously. There was a steady supply of useless Elevens, after all." The sheer hate and revulsion in his tone was unmistakable.

Euphie couldn't handle it anymore. She stood as she started to gag, holding her hand to her mouth. Lelouch grabbed her arm and hurried her to the bathroom, where she started to hurl and sob into the toilet bowl. Milly entered a second later with Shirley as her own gorge rose, and she started spewing into the bathtub. Nina was the only one who managed to keep her breakfast down, though she was deathly white and trembling. Kallen walked over and put her arms around the girl and started rubbing her head comfortingly. She let out a silent sob and gipped Kallen's hand tightly. Back in the bathroom, he gently rubbed the pink-haired beauty's back until her shaking stopped. He carefully wiped her off, her gaze unseeing. He kissed her forehead gently, and that finally put the spark of life back in her eyes. He calmly led her back to her chair, and kneeled in front of her with her hands in his. "You see, inside that chamber was the young woman Clovis had hurt the most."

"Wh-who?"

"Me." The door whirred open, and Zero's imposing form walked through carrying a large suitcase. She put it on the desk as Kallen stood and started unbuttoning her blouse and skirt. This was no time for embarrassment. They needed to be quick.

"Zero!" Shirley gasped, "But I thought-"

She trailed off as C.C. removed the helmet and let her luscious green hair flow, "I have no idea how you can stand to wear this thing." She said airily, "Must you be such a drama queen, Lelouch?"

"I'm not carrying three extra pounds of hair." He said dryly.

"That's an exaggeration." Milly sniped in amusement.

The two of them started to strip, entirely unconcerned about the audience. He addressed his madly blushing sister, inwardly glad to see at least some color on her cheeks after his revalations, "This is C.C. You can call her Clovis' _inspiration_ , if you will. She was the one who _actually_ killed Clovis. After what he did to her, she deserved it." He turned to Milly, "Make sure the leaders don't get impatient too quickly. We need some time."

"Roger!" Milly activated her Geass and for the first time, began to strain. The people above them were easy, but finding the Britannian leaders proved far more difficult. She wasn't sure she had a traditional 'range,' but it was quite clear to her now that greater distances meant the headaches got worse, quicker.

"But why would he do that to you?" Nina asked C.C.

"Because I have what he wanted." C.C. said without a care in the world, "I _am_ immortal. All of his experiments were in an attempt to replicate my ability for himself and his most loyal soldiers, so he could take his father's throne. I died more times under his tender _care_ than I had in centuries."

"That… that's impossible." Euphie said flatly, unwilling to believe that.

"It's true." Milly had finally been forced to square with that fact, "There are photos of her dating back a hundred years to the Great War and there's even a painting of her from the Hundred Years War."

The girls still looked dubious, so C.C. rolled her eyes, "Believe what you will. We're telling the truth, and I'm not about to slice my throat open just to prove it to you." The girls' jaws dropped as she continued, "Just because my sense of pain has dulled over the centuries doesn't mean I _enjoy_ dying."

Lelouch picked up from there, "Even if you won't believe them, believe me. _I've_ actually seen her revive with my own eyes. When we first met… when that container opened and set her free… we were being pursued by the Royal Guard. One Honorary Britannian soldier found the truck, and radioed it in obediently." The girls – including Euphie – gasped. "The Royal Guard ordered him to kill me so they could retrieve C.C., who was still weak from being drugged. While they were issuing the order, I lobbed a flashbang at them and we fled. Immediately after, the driver blew up the truck, so it was a good thing I did that or I would have been dead right then and there."

They _all_ stared at him in horror, except for C.C. Even Milly and Kallen hadn't known that part, "We came out of the tunnels into a warehouse they had reached moments before and listened to them continuing their slaughter. I had just heard a baby get silenced when…" He threw an amused grin at a pale Shirley, "A little birdie decided to call me." Shirley clapped both hands to her face, utterly mortified. He chuckled for a second, now down to his briefs. The girls were eying him with blushes. Shirley was most definitely peeking from behind her fingers, "So there we were, surrounded by the Royal Guard. I was almost certainly going to have to break character and slaughter them all. I wasn't ready to begin my revolution yet, but it would never begin at all if I died there. Only that never happened. C.C. jumped in front of a bullet for me."

"You can't be serious!" Shirley blurted out. He chuckled at her reaction.

"If I had known you could have handled it, I wouldn't have bothered." C.C. deadpanned, now down to her bra and panties, "You lazy boya, making a lady sacrifice herself for you."

"Shut it witch." Lelouch said imperiously, "So there she was, dead as dead could be in a puddle of her own blood. And then she reaches up and kisses me." He chortled at their dumbfounded looks, and smirked playfully at Milly, "Now I've had some good kisses before, but that was my first out-of-body experience during one."

"I'll just have to work harder then." Milly leered back.

"And then I heard her voice, asking me something."

C.C. rolled her eyes as Milly, Lelouch, and Kallen all said with one voice, "Would you like to form a contract?"

Lelouch poked her, "Really C.C., you should get a better writer."

"You know full well those weren't my exact words." She huffed as she started getting dressed in her Black Knight uniform.

He smirked as he buttoned the dress shirt, "In return for fulfilling a wish, she gave the three of us powers." He explained as he did up the last button, "Kallen got the ability to see trajectories and slow down her perception of time. That was how she was able to casually deflect speeding bullets." He tied his ascot around his neck, "Milly got the power of Absolute Empathy. Did you not think it strange that Nina managed to keep calm for so long?" Their eyes widened and Nina inhaled sharply, "With it, she is able to tell what emotions we feel as well as manipulate them. She was using it to keep you both calm. She also used it to force terror into the guards to slow their reaction time when we acted."

"That's!" Shirley had a terrified look on her face.

"Don't worry Shirley." Milly said immediately. She had started looking not-too-well, "We promised we wouldn't use them on our friends unless it was necessary. Today was very much an extenuating circumstance." Shirley's shoulders were stiff, but she nodded hesitantly. Milly couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. She didn't think her close friendship with the girl would survive.

"And…you got hypnosis, Lelouch?" Nina tried to guess at his.

"Incorrect, though I can see why you would arrive at that conclusion." Lelouch said, "My power is the strongest one out of all of ours. Absolute Obedience. I command, and you obey. No matter what."

Kallen snorted, "Yeah, but you can only use it once. I think I'll take my bullet time." She made the joke to try to take the edge off of the girls.

"That's…" Nina was wide-eyed.

"Too scary." Euphemia finished, looking mildly horrified.

"It is…" Lelouch confirmed, "But it is my burden to bare, and I have my loved ones to make sure I won't misuse it." He smiled at Milly and Kallen, who was almost completely dressed. Her uniform consisted of a skintight black bodysuit with red stripes. Over it, she was currently overlaying some plates for extra protection. The two smiled back, though Kallen less easily than Milly. He turned to Euphie and the other two, "But ours are not the only Geass in the world." He said with heat in his voice, "Charles zi Britannia carries one as well… and it is far scarier than mine. The Seal of Absolute Consciousness." The girls stiffened, "With it, he is able to freely manipulate your **memories** …without limit." They jerked back in horror, "He could entirely erase you from Nelia's memory. Your sister who has loved you her entire life wouldn't know you from a rock on the ground, Euphie."

"No!" Euphie gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth.

"Yes." Lelouch said heavily "That was likely how he made Nelia think she saw our bodies. There were probably never even caskets, much less filled ones. He has no morality, and no compunctions about using that damn power."

"You're right…that IS way scarier." Nina shuddered.

"Now that I've answered your questions… I have one of my own." He stood commandingly before his sister, who stood too.

"W-wait!" Nina's voice sounded off, throwing off Lelouch's rhythm. He looked askance at her, "I understand Milly now…but I can't figure out what role Kallen plays in this…"

Lelouch blinked, and shot the now armored girl a concerned glance. Kallen bit her lip, before placing her gun onto the desk. "I only joined them after Shinjuku."

Shirley jumped, "But… how were you so strong then? You can't have gotten strong enough to do that without preparation!" And then she yelled as she finally confronted one of the things that was just _wrong_ with this whole thing, "Hey, wait a minute!" She pointed at Kallen, "What happened to your sickness?"

"I was never sick." Kallen sighed, feeling bad about the lie she had to tell, "But it was the perfect cover. I needed to be out of school often." Shirley gazed at her in betrayal. This was an entire night of betrayal for the girl. She didn't know any of her closest friends at all! They all had been lying to her from the start!

"B-but why would you need to be out of school often?" Nina asked quietly.

She walked over to Nina and knelt before her, taking one of her hands. Nina blushed as Kallen sighed inwardly, "Nina… I was in the truck that Lelouch fell into." Nina gasped as her mind grasped at the implications of that statement, "While my father is a Britannian Nobleman… my mother is Japanese. I've seen firsthand what the Britannians do to my people. The horrors they inflict on them. And I couldn't stand it."

"I…" Nina trembled, the knowledge having sent her reeling. If it hadn't been for the events of the last month she would already have freaked out.

"Something terrible happened to you, didn't it?" Kallen said softly, in sympathy, "I promise Nina… if I ever find the ones who did it, they _will_ live to regret it. We'll protect you." She lightly ran her thumb over Nina's.

"Kallen…" Tears started streaming down Nina's face, "Kallen!" She yelled and flung herself into the redhead's arms, sobbing her heart out.

All of them were smiling at the resolution to that situation. Lelouch had been very afraid that they hadn't done enough, and Nina would shrink away from Kallen and regress completely. They were glad that they had miscalculated, and this was one time where Lelouch was happy to have been mistaken. He turned to Euphie and resumed his commanding air. She had a feeling she knew what was coming, "Now that you know how little we matter to our own father… now that you know the depths of depravity our countrymen can fall too… will you fight with me?"

Euphemia took a deep breath of air, "Lelouch… is this really the only way? Can't we end this peacefully?" The fact that she used the pronoun 'we' told them all what they needed to know.

"No." He said flatly, "You're a Princess of the Realm, and even you are powerless to make any real changes. Why do you think Nelia always drags you everywhere with her? Was it perhaps that you thought she was too overprotective?" He snorted, "No. You would be safest in Pendragon in the Imperial Palace, if that were the case. I'm sure the much bigger reason is to keep you out of his sights. She knows full well that he knows the quickest way to get her compliance is to threaten you. Nelia loves you far too much to not fold like a house of cards to any demand he makes. He would have no hesitation at all in whoring you out for some alliance and then betraying it. Just like he did with us." His sister flinched back as though he had slapped her.

Euphie closed her eyes, "I…" She bit her lip, "What about sister? What will you do about her? Will we bring her in too?"

"Not yet." Lelouch shot down immediately, "It's too early for me to be revealed to Nelia. Quite frankly it was too early for you to find out." He said flatly, "The events of today have forced my hand. If Nelia finds out about me now she'll lock Nunnally and I up somewhere safe. She'll be worse for us than she is even for you, because she's already lost us once. We can't afford for her to treat us like glass. I need to meet her not as a brother, but as an equal."

"I… I see." Euphie steeled herself and made her choice, "I lost you once already. I'll never do that again. I'll join you!" Lelouch broke out into a wide grin, happy that the day hadn't _ended_ catastrophically. "But you better treat me the way you'd want to be treated mister!" She waved a finger in his face, much to his amusement, "I may not be as good a pilot as sister and I may not be as smart as you, but I'm not a child! Don't treat me like one!"

"Oh please. If I did I'd never hear the end of it." He needled her.

She puffed up angrily and was about to reply, when a new voice popped up, "I-I will as well!" Lelouch's eyes widened as Nina walked forward timidly.

"Nina? Are you sure?" He asked in surprise.

Kallen walked forward and put a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder, "You know there can be no discrimination as a Black Knight. You will have to work with my people… the Japanese… and closely at that."

"I…" Nina hesitated, "I will try! I… I want to change. You've shown me…" She hesitated, "Clovis showed everyone… that everyone has the capacity to be bad. What he did…" She stopped and closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as tears started leaking from her eyes, "Was worse than what happened to me." She whispered, "I don't want to be like him!"

Kallen and Milly quickly had the girl wrapped up in a hug. Lelouch smiled, "You'll never be like him, Nina…" She stopped shivering and beamed up at him in hope, "Welcome to the Black Knights."

"I'm sorry…" Shirley said, flabbergasted at the happenings of the night. Had everyone lost their minds? "I…I don't think I can do this." She looked away, "I…I'm not a fighter."

"Not everyone is." Lelouch walked over to her and took one of her hands, "Don't be ashamed Shirley."

"I'm sorry…" She repeated, a sad look in her eyes, "I…I'll keep this all secret. You don't have to worry."

"I trust you…" Lelouch said, before his expression grew sad, "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to ensure that." She gasped and the other girls jerked in shock, "There are Geass out there other than Charles and our own. One of them may make you incapable of lying. So since you'll be defenseless compared to the rest of us…"

"I…I understand." A tear slipped from her eye. She didn't know why, but she felt like this moment would permanently drive a wedge between her and her friends. And why did she feel like she had a hole in her heart?

"Thank you." Lelouch said and his eye blazed red, " **You will be incapable of sharing the information you learned tonight by** _ **any means,**_ **unless first given permission by one of us. You may only discuss it with us, and only in absolute privacy.** "

"Yes…Your Highness." Shirley said, before her expression cleared up and she blinked repeatedly.

"Lelouch," Milly said, a look of pain on her strained face. She was sweating heavily, "My headache is getting too painful. I'm going to have to release them soon. We don't have too much more time. We need to finish now."

"Then there's only one thing left to do." He said heavily and started putting on his mask.

"Two." C.C. stopped him, "So..." She smirked at the two girls who had become the two newest Black Knights, "Would you like to form a contract?"

"C.C.?" Lelouch asked in surprise, "Are you sure? You were pretty hesitant with Milly and Kallen. I didn't even have to ask this time."

C.C. snorted, "And yet I knew you would. Don't get predictable on me, boya. If nothing else, they are interesting people to become contractors…" She sighed, "Truthfully, I don't want to do this too many more times. I've given more people Geass in the past month than I usually do in a decade, and it's making me start to feel like that bastard V.V."

"Thank you C.C." Lelouch squeezed her hand gently, "And don't ever think like that. You're not finding sick amusement out of doing this. You're doing it to help me. If nothing else, you can bank on that."

C.C. looked away, a very light flush on her cheeks.

"Listen up you two." He commanded, "Geass is our hopes and desires given form. I can't tell you what sort of Geass you will get, nor can I even promise they will be useful. But they _will_ suit you, one way or the other. It also isn't given for free. You will have to grant C.C. a wish in exchange. It also isn't without its drawbacks. Those without strong willpower can lose control of their Geass as it progresses in strength. Knowing those risks… will you accept?"

"I…I accept!" The two girls stammered.

Milly and Lelouch grinned in anticipation while Kallen merely blushed, knowing what would come next.

And then C.C.'s lips were on Nina's. The darker-green haired girl blushed to supernova levels and started to shake. When C.C.'s lips popped off of hers, she practically had steam coming out of her ears.

"I! I changed my-" Euphie didn't have time to finish her statement.

 **-]|[-**

Lloyd started to laugh like a little kid who had just been given a toy, "Wonderful! Thank you very much for that lovely order." He turned around to his subordinates with a giant grin, "They said you've got the green light, Lancelot. You've got orders to charge right into that linear cannon in the tunnel."

Cécile gasped, "Wait a minute, you mean they're using him as a decoy to make an opening for them?"

Suzaku stepped up, "Don't worry Miss Cécile." His eyes were hard and furious, "If Lancelot and I are needed to give those people a chance…then I won't hesitate for a second."

…

An unknown female voice was providing information to Suzaku as he was craned into the tunnel, "Warrant Officer Kururugi, here is a guideline for your mission. According to Prime Search the hostages are located just above the hotel's middle floor. They are in one of the dinner halls. Advanced prototype weapon Z-01 Lancelot will use the utilities tunnel to move under the hotel. Once on site you will destroy the foundation block and submerge the building. The area with the hostages should hold out for nine minutes. Hostage rescue and mop up of the terrorists will be handled by other units. You will be using the VARIS to destroy the foundation. Set the Impact Rail to Anti-Material Level 3."

"The only variable in this is that pesky linear cannon waiting for you in the tunnel." Suzaku was well used to Lloyd's tone by now, "Space is tight in there, so even the Lancelot will only have a 47.8% evasion rate."

"Can he really do this?" Cécile asked.

"Sure." Lloyd nodded easily, "Just make sure to get out if things get too rough. Lancelot mustn't be damaged."

Suzaku was remembering how Shirley had asked if he wanted to join them at the hotel this weekend. He could have been stuck there, powerless to help. He wouldn't fail them. Not again, "Understood."

"Twelve minutes to operation start."

 **-]|[-**

Euphie had managed to get her color under control as she followed lelo- no, _Zero_ , upstairs. They came upon a door with two sentries, "Who did you find?" One of them asked, "And where are your escorts?"

"I do not need an escort to find my way here. There were better uses for them elsewhere." Lelouch said flatly, "Let us through. Your leaders hit the jackpot with this one. **Ignore anything you hear inside.** " Euphie wanted to elbow him for the comment, but had to keep in-character.

The two guards scowled at his tone, but opened the doors anyway as the red rings surrounded their irises. Lelouch and Euphie stepped through, holding themselves imperiously. Kusakabe stared at them carefully, "So…you're Zero."

"And you are Kusakabe." Lelouch replied as blandly as possible. Kusakabe had a terrible poker face and he knew he had just been snubbed. His eye twitched in irritation.

"That's Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe!" Another of the men yelled. Lelouch turned Zero's mask towards him and stared. The men flinched at the feeling of wrath that seized his body, and he meekly stepped back.

Kusakabe was reluctantly impressed. Lelouch turned back and began, "Tell me, what exactly did you hope to accomplish with this mess you've created?"

"Mess?" Kusakabe growled lowly, "We've done more with this action than the JLF has done in years." He spat. Lelouch noted the information with a raised eyebrow of interest. So, this wasn't a sanctioned operation then? "We've-"

"Managed to completely derail what I started a month ago." Zero cut him off sharply, "Your people were getting humanitarian aid paid out of pocket by Britannians who finally realized your suffering. Attitudes were changing. In the eyes of the world, you were the victims and Britannia had egg on their faces. All you had to do was keep revealing Britannia for what they really were. Instead, you go and throw an unarmed family man off a tower on live TV. Do you have a brain behind that thick forehead of yours?"

"Why you!?" One of the men started bringing his rifle up to bare, and the room exploded into action. Pistols fell out of Zero's cuffs and in the time it took Euphie to flinch back and cover herself behind Zero's bulletproof cape, the rest of the commanding soldiers were dead.

Kusakabe was sweating heavily as he whirled his head from side to side and watched his men fall. He realized that not only were every single one of his men dead, but the guards outside hadn't moved. He swallowed, before growling, "The world had to know the Japanese weren't dead yet! Surely you can see that!"

Lelouch reminded her of their sister in that moment, "You're a relic of a bygone age. You're sloppy, foolish, and most of all, impotent." Kusakabe ground his teeth together, "You obsolete cretins have no room in this world. You may have set my cause back months with this idiocy. That was your first mistake." He took a step forward and parried Kusakabe's hurried slash with his own blade, knocking it from his hand. It clattered to the floor behind Kusakabe, "Your second mistake was threatening my loved ones and putting almost every single one of them in mortal danger."

"What?!" Kusakabe gasped in shock, his eyes going wide.

"Your third mistake was the execution of that man." He said, and kicked Kusakabe in the chest, the dull thud filling the room. The man fell back and tripped over the coffee table and crashed into the chair he had occupied. He let out a pained groan and tried to get some air back into his lungs. He ended up just sputtering, "But your last mistake…" Lelouch said ominously as he stared down at the Japanese man as if he were a slug, "You pissed me off. **DIE**!"

"Yes, my lord!" Kusakabe yelled and grabbed his sword. Euphie closed her eyes. There was a sickening squishing sound, and then a thump. When she looked up, Kusakabe was on his knees with his own blade sticking out of his stomach.

 **-]|[-**

"M.E. Boost!" Suzaku said the second the countdown had reached zero.

"Lancelot! Launch!" He heard Miss Cécile's voice in his earpiece.

The Landspinners screeched against the tarmac throwing up smoke trails, before he took off at very close to the Lancelot's max speed. A booming sound was heard above ground as air rushed from the portholes.

Further down, the Raikō's jerked as yet another signal appeared, "Reaction confirmed, one enemy Knightmare."

"It's fast!" Another of the pilots yelled.

"Who cares? It'll end up just like the rest." The commander told his men. The barrel of the Raikō started glowing yellow and whirring. Sparks of electricity flew from it, "Super Electro Magnetic Shrapnel Cannon, fire!" The loud roar of the cannon blasted through the tunnel.

Suzaku grunted as his Core Luminous started spinning at higher speeds. The Lancelot practically danced around all of the steel balls that had ripped apart all of the previous attempts. Suzaku was even forced to leap over the fallen debris of a former Knightmare. He clenched his fist as he saw red dripping from a shredded cockpit.

Above the ground, air visibly rushed out of the portholes as the entire area shook. Pieces of concrete were falling from the sky, forcing Cécile and Lloyd to duck for cover, "I knew this would happen!" She yelled.

"Ha! He's running this for real isn't he?! Guess he didn't care to be a decoy!" Lloyd laughed in rapture.

The next shot came through and he avoided it by driving his Knightmare on the ceiling and the walls.

Above on the streets, Cornelia got a piece of news that made her jerk around in shock, "What's that? A.S.E.E.C.'s Knightmare is actually getting through?"

"Yes, your Highness." Darlton allowed himself a light smirk, "That Eleven isn't bad."

She snorted, "You never did care for race."

"As long as they are skilled and loyal, it is enough for me." Darlton nodded and his smirk widened.

Down in the tunnels, Suzaku had gotten close enough that he wasn't worried about his energy status anymore. He started using the Blaze Luminous to deflect the steel balls and brought out the VARIS. "I can take this level of destructive force easily!" He yelled.

"That thing just broke through salvo number five! What the hell is it?!" A panicking member of the JLF yelled.

The commander had started to sweat, "Just don't panic!" He yelled, panicking "Deploy the quad-linkage free-fire arm gun batteries too! We'll shield this final defense with our lives!" The machine whirred to live as more guns came to bare.

Suzaku avoided it all, "It's time Miss Cécile! I'm going to use the VARIS!"

Cécile gasped, "Wait! That's dangerous!"

"I don't care! I'll risk getting blasted if it means I can take that damn cannon down!" The Lancelot got into its firing stance, aiming the blue and gold VARIS down range. The blue shielding parts opened up and the golden barrel extended forward, before the blue armor clamped down again.

"Maximum output! I don't give a damn if it destroys the guns! Be prepared to die defending this spot! Smash him!" The Raikō fired the largest blast yet. The entire barrel turned red and started to deform slightly as what seemed to be a solid beam of lightning roared forward, carrying a dangerous projectile.

Suzaku exhaled and squeezed the trigger, and watched in awe at the power of the VARIS. It sent a smaller projectile screaming forward, pushing a wall of air with it powerful enough to crack the walls. It met the Raikō's projectile in between the two guns and passed through it as though it were nothing more than a sheet of paper. Around it, the solid steel ball bearings _disintegrated_ as the wall of air broke them apart. The projectile went straight through the weakened barrel of the Raikō, instantly killing the commanders. The entire thing went up in a brilliant explosion, blowing that part of the tunnel sky-high. A plume of water shot up and started raining on the panicking JLF soldiers beneath. It actually went higher than the hotel itself.

The Lancelot burst into the air near the hotel, and clicked something on the VARIS. The barrel receded back into the weapon and it took its stock configuration once more. "I'll be damned, he actually did it." Cornelia looked completely shocked. She bit her lip as the Lancelot completed its mission and started firing on the foundation block. The slightly less powerful but larger blasts shattered it with a couple shots. The building slowly started to sink and the Britannian soldiers immediately sprang into action. The JLF were in disarray and it was the perfect time to strike. It burned her to admit that, but Darlton was right. The kid was talented.

But then Suzaku inhaled sharply inside his cockpit. The Factspheres were zeroing in on someone, "Zero!" He gasped as he saw the cloaked form of the man in one of the windows.

' _Sorry White Knight…but tonight, this is my show._ ' He pressed down on the trigger in his right hand.

"EUPHIE!" Cornelia's heart-torn wail could be heard by those closest even through the sounds of the explosions. The Lake Kawaguchi Hotel began exploding at various points, sending debris raining downward.

"NOOOOO!" Suzaku roared in anguish, "MY FRIENDS!"

"Warrant Officer Kururugi, DON'T!" Lloyd yelled as the Lancelot careened into the growing dust cloud.

…

"What about the cameras in Van Three?" Diethard yelled in the man's ear.

"I told you! Zero took the van!"

"So let's hope we get a signal!" Diethard yelled, ' _What's wrong, Zero? Wasn't this your plan? To use this?_ ' He stared anxiously at the static on camera three.

…

The smoke cleared, revealing the Lancelot on its knees, staring at the smoldering wreck that was once a proud hotel. "Suzaku! He's alright!" Cécile cried, smiling in relief. Her hands were clasped in front of her. Beside her, Lloyd let out his own huff of relief.

But Suzaku wasn't alright. Not by a longshot. "I couldn't save them." He choked back a sob, almost biting through his bottom lip, "I… I… Not again!" He roared, slamming a fist down onto the console.

A boat's bow pierced through the smoke, and Diethard grinned in excitement as the camera started showing Zero's face. Around Japan and the world, people started shouting in excitement and crowding around their TVs. People in the streets stopped walking and gave the man behind the mask their full attention, "No need to fear…my dear Britannians." His voice sounded, and several people started outright _cheering_ as the video changed to show all of the living refugees safe and sound in life rafts. "All of the hostages from the hotel have been saved, bar the one man mercilessly executed by those barbarians before my arrival. I return them to you…"

"Everyone!" Suzaku almost began to cry. He nearly started freaking out when he realized he didn't see Lelouch, before logic overtook him. There was no way Lelouch would allow his face to be broadcast on camera. He was probably huddling with some of them. Then he bit his lip as he started worrying. What if he was discovered? Would Zero hide him without asking why? Would he let him go free? He was worried for Kallen too. He couldn't see her in the rafts. Had her sickness gotten to her?

He couldn't even begin to know how wrong he was.

Cornelia's eyebrow twitched in irritation. But at the same time, she couldn't help but allow her lips to quirk upwards in relief as she spotted her sister safe and sound, "You win this one." She couldn't help but grudgingly feel respect for the man. Not only did he rescue the hostages, but he did so while Britannia was powerless. Kururugi had succeeded, true… But the people would never know that. So for all intents and purposes, Zero had done all the work while Britannia twiddled their thumbs. No doubt the common folk would see the man as a hero. "Well played indeed." It had been a long time since her blood had boiled like this. A long time since she had a worthy opponent. She licked her lips and smirked, "I look forward to our first dance."

"People of the world!" Zero's voice became louder and echoed in the air. Spotlights turned on, revealing a small group of men and women dressed in black and silver military outfits. The women were wearing skintight bodysuits with armor plates protecting them, while the men had the same with armored jackets and cargo pants instead. Each wore a visor and a cap on their heads, "Fear us or rally behind us as you see fit! We are the Black Knights!"

Near the Lancelot's trailer, Cécile raised an eyebrow, "Black Knights?"

"Ironic isn't it?" Lloyd smirked in actual good humor, "Terrorists calling themselves Knights."

"We of the Black Knights stand with all of those who are powerless! We stand with every person who has no weapon to wield, whether they be Japanese or Britannian!" The reverb on his voice was ringing in their ears, "The Japan Liberation Front cowardly took innocent Britannian civilians hostage, and they mercilessly executed them! An innocent family man as robbed of his life this night. Such wanton and meaningless acts cannot and will not be tolerated! Therefore… they have been judged and punished! I personally took the lives of their entire command for this operation!"

"You let this run!" Diethard roared into his microphone, "You heard me right, I said let it run! Liable?" He almost spat on the floor, "I'LL be the one responsible for this! Don't you dare cut it off!"

"In the same way that I judged former Viceroy Clovis… who slaughtered thousands of unarmed Japanese civilians who were only trying to live their lives to hide his dark secrets! We could not stand by and watch as these cruel actions were carried out!" On the gently lolling life rafts, Euphemia, Nina and Shirley couldn't help but stare at Zero and the Knights in awe. Lelouch truly had a way with words. He was an excellent orator. Milly had her arm around Nina with a smirk on her face, and Kallen stood proudly to Zero's right. C.C. was missing. None of them wanted her seen yet, so she was already waiting in their getaway vehicle. "And so, we mete out judgement. I will not repudiate fighting! Neither will I stand by and watch a one-sided massacre of the weak by the strong!" Cornelia stood proud and tall as she watched the man work, eager for their next confrontation, "The only people who should kill…"

Cornelia's eyes went wide, and she unconsciously finished Zero's sentence at the same time as he did, "Are those prepared to die themselves!" Her fists clenched, ' _WHO ARE YOU?!_ '

"Where those with power attack those without… WE SHALL APPEAR AGAIN! No matter how great a power our enemy may possess!" He flung his left arm wide, throwing that side of his cape to the wind, "Those of you with power… FEAR US!" He did the same with his right, allowing his full outfit to be seen for the first time. His cape draped around his shoulders, "Those of you without it, rally behind us. The Black Knights shall stand in judgment of this world!"

 **-]|[-**

 **And that's a wrap. Hope everyone enjoyed!**

 **One of the things I've found to be the most amusing about writing is going back and proofreading your work. Yes, there are all the amusing little errors you never caught originally, but what I'm actually talking about here is simple word play. There are a bunch of times when I'm reading and rereading a scene and just going, "Okay, I KNOW what I was going for here… but what the fuck?" Fixing those little things that had been bugging you – sometimes it's just a bit of word play that didn't come out quite the way you wanted – can really bring the piece together. Of course, it also somehow added another 1500 words so fuck me I guess.**

 **I decided not to mess with Zero's speech too much. It was already too good at what he wanted to accomplish, so there was no need. But as for the rest of the chapter… Heh, did any of you actually go "Oh fuck!" When Lelouch and Kallen agreed to go on the trip? Some more advancement of the 'plot' was had. I'll be updating Kallen into the full pairing in the story tags.**

 **Before I get into anything else, let's get one thing straight right now. NINA IS NOT CURED OF HER XENOPHOBIA. Not by a long shot. She trusts Kallen – especially after she was part of saving her life – and she's slightly warmed up to Suzaku. There are millions of Japanese who are not Kallen nor Suzaku, and she was just triggered earlier. Right now, Kallen – a half-Japanese – helped save her from everything she feared. Will she relapse at some points? Yes, she bloody well will. It's only natural. She's going to try, and sometimes she will succeed, and sometimes she will fail. Will she ever reach canon levels? No, she will not. Nina never had the Euphemia mindfuck in this fic and she never will. After all, the events happened very differently and she has far more support.**

 **Now, there is one thing I was rather concerned about with this chapter. In the end, I decided to go through with it, but I may end up changing it at some point. This chapter was truly the one that I had been planning since I started this story. The firefight to save Nina and the hostages was one of the scenes that originally spawned this story. As such, Nina, Shirley and Euphemia finding out about Lelouch was in the plans from the beginning.**

 **However…** _ **Rakshata**_ **coming in so early and being allowed to know who was running the show was a more recent development. No matter what, I needed her to show up earlier than she did in canon, so that was always planned out too. I just wasn't sure where exactly I wanted to bring her in. With the month gap that did not appear in canon, I decided that it was a good point to choose. However I am a bit worried that I'm being a bit** _ **too**_ _ **free**_ **with Lelouch's face right now. I gave my reasoning for why it went the way it did, but I'm aware it might twig some the wrong way. I don't have many more people finding out – not counting canon people who did – at least until 3/4ths of the way through R1. Though I have to say, after my final revision of the scene, I'm** _ **far**_ **more satisfied with how it played out.**

 **There will be a lot more timeline fucking going forward. We've had a pretty big diversion already. Saitama never happened and the Black Knights are already formed. I've seen the official timeline (or at least what the wikia has presented as the official timeline) and it just** _ **bugs**_ **me. Yes, it was a giant snowball for Zero after he got his Geass but two months just** _ **doesn't**_ _ **seem right**_ **. The entirety of the Black Rebellion from the introduction at Lake Kawaguchi to Lelouch's capture supposedly happened in just April. When we have a scene in episode 9 saying that two weeks passed between their introduction and the start of the next episode, so it's actually even shorter. I'm sorry, but I just have to call bullshit.**

 **Nina and Euphie will reveal their Geass next chapter! As of current plans, there are only two more to go. Or at least only two for the R1 part of the story. Poor Shirley got shafted. Sorry guys, but as I've stated to a decent number of you; just because I** _ **asked**_ **for Geass for certain characters never meant that they were getting one. In addition, you can pretty much solidly rule Shirley out of the harem. Sorry Shirley fans, but that one was never in the cards.**

 **We also saw some of Cornelia's motivations earlier in the chapter and the sheer agony she felt as the Emperor's Geass showed her the dead vi Britannia children. We also saw what she would be like when she** _ **wasn't**_ **being utterly blinded by rage and hatred. After all, her anger over Clovis was being tempered over the horror of what he did. I'd like to think she's a bit more rational than she was in canon.**

 **The Black Knights had different uniforms this time around. You know…so they actually have some** _ **protection**_ **. I didn't go into too much detail on them because this is only their first iteration. They will be upgraded the same as the Knightmares will be upgraded throughout the fic.**

 **Hope I did well on the fight scene. I think I made the sequence of events easy enough to follow with good flow, so hopefully you all enjoyed it.**


	6. Turn 06 - The Evil of Refrain

**So something amusing has occurred. Chapter 4 somehow has more views than chapter 3 and almost has more views than chapter 2. For that matter, chapter 5 is almost catching chapter 3 as well. How the hell did that happen? On that note, we officially broke 50k views!**

 **Thank you guys so much for the responses to the last chapter! That was by far the most successful chapter yet. I had some awesome conversations with a number of you. Keep em coming everyone!**

 **I'm really happy about the response to Cornelia and Nina in particular. Some of you even started asking for Nina to be in the harem, which I honestly hadn't been expecting. So thanks everyone! I'm really glad they were well received so far. On the other hand, opinions on** _ **Shirley**_ **were more…** _ **mixed**_ **. I'm sorry I can't please everybody, but that's just how it is.**

 **A whole bunch of you suggested Knightmare frame designs and some of you helped me refine some of them into their release forms. I'm not sure any frame suggestion will make it into the fic exactly as it was originally put, but if the basic design makes it in, I'll make sure to give a shout out to the one who helped create the final version! The first new Knightmare won't be making its appearance this chapter, but my thanks to** **X009** **in particular for helping me design/refine it.**

 **Keep the train rolling people! Still plenty of fic to go on, and maybe your brainchild will make it in! While friendly units are awesome, I also want to see new** _ **enemy**_ __ **units. And don't forget there are countries other than Britannia and Japan too! And even if you can't come up with full Knightmares, I'd love to see what you can come up with for weaponry and technology. Go wild! (Just make sure to state the intended Generation / where in the story it should be introduced.)**

 **On another note, I have chapter 7 completed and chapter 8 just needs one more section inserted into it before it's done too. At least until chapter 8 is posted, I think I'll settle on one chapter every three weeks. I'll update it again once I post 8. So again, unless something big happens, the next chapter will be posted on 3/28.**

 **Now, on with the show!**

 **-]|[-**

 **Turn 06 – The Evil of Refrain**

 **-]|[-**

" _...Clearing the last of the debris from around the Lake Kawaguchi Convention Centre Hotel. It's been two weeks since Zero unveiled his Black Knights. But there's still little insight into the man behind the mask."_

" _They weren't able to track his escape route? They let the hostages go and somehow made it to the other shore."_

Kallen jerked awake to the sounds of crashing outside her room. For a moment she was in flight-or-fight mode, before she recognized the comfort of her own bed. She groaned as she rolled over and slipped on a robe, walking over the stream of clothes she had just left right on the floor to the door. She cracked it open and stepped outside, and confirmed what she already knew.

Her mother was on her knees in front of a mess of wires and glittering beads that had broken off one of the suspended lamps of the house. She was reaching forward and jerking back lightly, as if she was unsure of what to do. Kallen let out a sigh, which caught her mother's attention. "K-kall-" Her mother cut herself off, "I mean… my lady. Forgive me for waking you." She bowed her head, "The step ladder broke."

Kallen regarded her mother blankly. Her usual response – the one she'd given in the past – did not… seem to be coming to her at the moment. Instead, her sharp gaze took in the details. The broken step on the ladder… it did partially look properly warped from breaking… But it wasn't warped across the entire step. No, part of it looked _cut_. Her mother likely hadn't even noticed, and had taken one step too many on it. She knew for a fact that her mother had gotten increasingly clumsy over the years. Likely from the stress she no doubt had to face in her daily life. But now that Kallen had actually decided to pay attention, she realized that a whole lot of her accidents probably had been sabotage like this. ' _Have you not even considered that she may be staying there for_ _ **you**_ _?_ ' The words rumbled horribly in her head.

She strode forward and started helping her mother pick up, "M-mistress!" Her mother gasped.

"Don't call me that… mom." Her mother's face scrunched up into such a gob-smacked look of shock and disbelief that Kallen swore she could feel her heart wrench inside her chest. Her eyes started to get a little watery and she clenched her jaw, "Please _leave_." Kallen's lip trembled, "Get out of this fucking house. You're better than this. You don't deserve any of this. I don't want to see you like this anymore. I've never wanted to see you like this!" She lowered her head, "Why do you think I've tried so hard to push you away." Her voice was small and timid, very much uncharacteristic of her.

Her mother's eyes started to tear up as understanding started to flood her, "Kallen…"

Kallen finished placing all of the broken pieces together and picked up the entire lamp, before yanking her gasping mother to her feet and dragging her inside her room. She carelessly dropped the broken lamp into the trash and then faced her mother, who had shut the door quietly, "Tell me the truth mom… why have you stayed here? Why do you keep letting yourself get belittled like this? They purposely cut that step so you would fall!"

"Kallen." Happy tears leaked from her mother's eyes in streams, "I stayed for you baby. I've always stayed for you."

Kallen choked back a sob, before flinging herself into her mother's arms, "Idiot! Stupid! I never asked you to do that! I've never wanted you to suffer here for me!" The waterworks opened up and they didn't seem to want to stop in the slightest.

"You never had to." Her mother let out a shuddering breath as she ran shaky fingers through her daughter's hair, "I'm your mother. That's what we do." How long had she dreamed of being able to do this again?

Kallen shook her head, "No." She whispered, before she backed away from the brunette, shaking her head resolutely, "I won't accept this! I won't watch you be ridiculed like this any longer! Did you not even think about how it would make me feel?"

"K-Kallen…" Her mother looked shocked.

"All I can think of right now is how horrible of a daughter I've been!" Kallen wiped her tears away.

"Don't say that Kallen!" Her mother brought shaking hands up to her face. "You haven't-"

"It's true and you know it." Kallen let out a shuddering sigh, "There are other options mom! You don't have to stay here!"

"But they won't be with you." Her mother whispered.

Kallen finally managed something other than sadness as she quirked her lips, "Sorry mom, but you're wrong there."

"I… I am?" She blinked, nonplussed.

Kallen took her hands, "The school clubhouse… well, specifically the Student Council Clubhouse is _huge_! I'm sure Miss Sayoko would love a helping hand there."

Her mother gasped, "But that's!" She looked worried, inwardly thinking of how difficult it would be to hide her shaking hands. She would get judged there the same as she was judged here, and she might expose Kallen too! She hadn't even realized that Sayoko was not a Britannian name in her rising panic. Oh, how she wished she had never taken that damn drug. It had just made things go from bad to worse.

Kallen smiled, knowing that if necessary, they could bring her to the facility as well. She was sure Lelouch and Milly would grant her that request. "I'll bring you there later, okay mom?" Her mother looked close to protesting, which got Kallen's temper to flare lightly, "I'm not taking no for an answer! I'll damn well move there myself if I have to!"

"But Kallen…!" Her daughter's resolute face made her crash and burn. She wondered where Kallen had gotten her strength from, because it certainly wasn't from her parents. "I don't want to be a bother…" She looked down at the floor. "I don't want you to have to upend your whole life just for me. Why do you think I fought so hard to make sure you would be well cared for?"

"…" Kallen deadpanned, "Mom… we really haven't been good to each other have we?" Now it was her turn to look down to the carpet, "I don't care, mom." She waved around the room, "I don't _care_ about _any_ of this!"

"But Kallen!" Her mother gasped, not comprehending what her daughter was saying.

"All of this… is fake. It's making me pretend to be someone I'm _not_. Someone I've never been!"

"What are you saying Kallen?!" Her mother asked incredulously, "No one can ever harm you! You can use the phone and go to school-"

"Mom, I _hate_ it here." Kallen interrupted her in exasperation, "I hate that bitch who runs this house into the ground! I hate the history and the culture Britannia trampled upon! They call us savages!"

"But what of all your friends at school!" Her mother was starting to look and feel very uncomfortable, "You've been going so often! You never did that before!"

Kallen blushed lightly, " _Little bit more than friends at this point._ " She mumbled, not knowing she had done so aloud. Her mother gasped, and Kallen's light blush expanded to her whole face as she realized she had said that aloud. She shook her head rapidly, "You heard nothing!"

"Baby pictures…" Her mother had a weird gleam in her eyes.

"No. You cut that out right now mom!" Kallen grabbed her mom by the shoulders, "No baby pictures!"

"But!"

"No!"

Her mother pouted, "Tell me about him?"

Kallen sighed in defeat, "Them." She mumbled.

Her mother's eyes bulged out, "I'm sorry?"

Kallen groaned and went to go fall back into her bed. Her life was officially _over_.

 **-]|[-**

By the time Kallen realized that _she wasn't supposed to be there_ , she had already missed first period. A fit of panic later, and Kallen was pulling into the second period classroom with a slice of toast hanging from her lips. Her mother had stubbornly decided not to come with her, and for now she had decided to let things sit. She would talk to Lelouch and Milly and hopefully come up with something fast. If she didn't and her mother continued suffering under those bastard's hands she was liable to start stabbing.

But not five minutes into the lecture of things she didn't care about – namely bullshit propaganda of Britannian victories over Japan – the droning of the teacher's voice had put her to sleep.

 _Dusk was turning to night. There was still the thinnest margins of pink in the sky, though even they were rapidly disappearing. The warehouses had guards who looked decidedly unprofessional loitering around. Inside, a very much illegal deal was happening between unscrupulous Britannian businessmen who cared nothing about anything except their own pocketbooks, "I know it's welfare, but it seems such a shame to waste it on these useless Elevens." These men weren't like the sympathetic Britannians who simply had no idea that the indigenous people of conquered Areas suffered horribly under their masters. No, these were horrible men who were as racist as they came. The kind of men who got off on horrible videos such as the one Zero had aired._

" _Which is why I'm selling it to you, isn't that right my friend?" He smirked as they watched a forklift put a heavy packet of supplies into a truck, "The Eleven population could use a little thinning out, if you ask me."_

" _Of course." His partner smirked, "Your payment will be transferred to your wife's account._ _P_ _rincess Cornelia is a soldier. This sort of thing won't interest her all that much." He was entirely unaware that he was utterly wrong. Euphemia had been adamant with her sister about this kind of thing not happening. To Euphemia's joy, without the burning hatred over a family member's death warping her judgement, Cornelia was more willing to listen. Even if she hadn't, she was a pragmatic woman. Productivity would decrease if she didn't stop deals like this. It was only the size of this operation that kept her from acting. They were too small-time for Cornelia to take note._

 _But unfortunately for them, someone else_ did.

 _The lights all went out and plunged the warehouse interior into pitch black darkness. Flashes of light could be seen from the vents near the roof, with the accompanying sound of gunfire and ricocheting bullets filling their ears, "What's happening!" One of the bosses yelled, "Hit the lights! Turn 'em on!" One of the other bosses found the large light lever and pushed it up._

 _He wished he hadn't, "You're!"_

"The Black Knights!" Kallen stood up and yelled.

The entire class turned around to her with gasps. There was silence for a moment, before everyone started to laugh. Kallen, who had a red mark on her forehead from where she had been sleeping, started to blush.

…

"How cute." Lelouch chuckled as they ducked into an empty classroom for a moment.

"Sh-shut up!" She blushed again, before she started to yawn.

"Not getting much sleep either huh?" He said sympathetically, "I was asleep as well." He chuckled and started to lightly tickle her, "Looks like someone talks in their sleep though."

"St-stop!" She managed to get out in between her yawning. She rested her head on his shoulder, "This double life sucks." She mumbled. "Keeping my grades at the top… nightly raids… class…"

"I know…" He sighed, "That's why I never made too much effort. I always just did the bare minimum to pass." He smirked, "I know the material of course… but I can't even remember the last time I actually passed in a homework assignment."

"Lazy." She mumbled. "Why did I have to go with the sick girl excuse… I can't even have fun in gym."

"Bet you're regretting that huh?" He chuckled lightly.

"Can't we just let Rivalz in? I'm sick of pretending." She groused.

"It's _supposed_ to be a secret identity." He snorted, "And that would still leave Mr. Idealist anyway."

"Right. We've only had four people find out, one of which is a Britannian Princess and technically our enemy." He felt her smirk into his neck, "At least I managed to keep the act up for a couple years."

He smirked and his hands drifted lower. She squeaked cutely as he grabbed her bum and lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he put her against the wall, "Kallen Kōzuki an invalid?" He scoffed before kissing her, "That's like a tiger trying to pretend to be a day old kitten. It didn't take me more than a couple hours to see you mess up once I actually started paying attention."

"Oh, just shut up and kiss me." She growled and yanked his head back down. She was entirely aware that she was just proving him right.

 **-]|[-**

"What are you getting all emotional for, Suzaku?" Rivalz was ribbing the brunette, his head underneath his arm.

"Is Suzaku crying again?" Lelouch chuckled as the door opened and he walked in with Kallen, "It's been two weeks man."

"I'm just relieved!" Suzaku wiped his eyes, "When the building blew up…" He clenched his fist, "There was no reason for that! What was the point of blowing the building up? I thought you all had died!"

Lelouch rolled his eyes, "You're a soldier you idiot. Use that brain of yours." When Suzaku's look turned confused he rolled them again, "First, the Black Knights managed to rescue all of the hostages. They had a list you know. That was the most important part."

Milly took up cause, "They blew it up to send any remaining JLF into a panic, if it didn't kill them outright. How in the world do you think the Black Knights could have gotten the hostages out safely if the JLF could see them and just start shooting once they realized they lost their hostages? Plus, it meant that they wouldn't be able to turn the building into a holdout. I don't know why the building started to sink, but they obviously had already had those explosive planted before that. Frankly the sinking was scarier. The explosions were just loud." She had no way of knowing that her words speared through Suzaku, since _he_ was the one who sank the building.

"Come on Suzaku. That's like… basic 101." Lelouch chuckled.

"Well excuse me for being worried about my friends." Suzaku grumbled, "But really, how have you guys been holding out?"

Shirley really had _not_ been well in the past couple of weeks. The things she had learned that night had really put a damper on… well… everything. She went from a teenaged girl with a few close friends and an unrequited crush on the school Prince to… not knowing what to feel _at all._ How could she, when her prince turned out to be an actual _Prince._ How could she when she learned that she never knew her best friend at all? Oh, the three of them had tried hard to keep things the same between them, but it was obvious that it wasn't working. Her relationship with Milly was even more strained than it had been when she had found out Lulu and her were dating. She just felt… _betrayed_ _._ That was certainly a good word for it. Milly had killed two men with expertly aimed shots. She was complicit in a plot to overthrow the Empire! Shirley herself was now helping – whether she wanted to or not – to keep one of the biggest secrets in the world. And those _powers!_ Those _terrifying_ powers…

And as for Lelouch? Everything was just wrong. Her emotions and feelings were completely jumbled. Where Lelouch had once felt like the highest standard, now he was utterly unattainable. He was Zero. He was the one about to lead a revolution! He was the one she had spent years nagging about getting his homework done! The one who had never seemed to care about anything important other than Milly, his sister and his friends. The one who had never given her the time of day or shown even an inkling of interest in her. The one who she had thought she had known… but hadn't known in the slightest. She wasn't even sure that this was the extent of it. How many masks did he even wear?

Shirley had honestly been thinking about quitting the Student Council for a little while. She just… she hadn't been comfortable with all the lies. She had pushed past it though, trying to remember all the good times they had. Ultimately, she had decided to stay and try to repair their friendships. It was _hard_ but nothing worth fighting for was ever easy. She forced a weak smile onto her face, "The whole thing's a huge pain in the butt. We've been hounded with questions day and night. Even in the bath!"

"We haven't been able to leave school grounds in a week." Milly chuckled in amusement. Rivalz had been starting to get annoyed with it, since he was stuck too.

"Man… I just want to go gambling again." Rivalz groaned, "Lelouch never goes anymore!"

Lelouch snorted, "It's hardly my fault you blew 190,000 betting it all on red." Suzaku's jaw dropped, having been unaware of this, "Everyone known you always bet on black." Kallen had to bite back a groan, knowing he was smirking smugly for reasons Rivalz was entirely unaware of. Nina had been watching the byplay from her computer and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Milly didn't even bother, and almost fell over.

"Lelouch!" Rivalz groaned, "Let's go back to making fun of Suzaku! This is the third time he started crying!"

Kallen giggled, "I don't know…I'd say your betting prowess are funnier."

"Suzaku's a crybaby." Lelouch laughed, "It's expected. You on the other hand should know better!"

"Hey! I'm not a crybaby!" Suzaku yelled, unwittingly giving Rivalz exactly what he wanted. Every single other person in the room – their new mascot Arthur included – turned to him deadpan. He started blushing up a storm, "Shut up."

"It's no big deal anyway. The Black Knights were there to save us." Lelouch waved him off.

"If they wanted to catch criminals, they could have joined the police force, you know?" Suzaku said, "Why don't they, I wonder."

"…" Now Lelouch was starting to get rather irritated with Suzaku again. He hadn't been this irritated with him since his court martial, "…Because the police are as ineffectual and useless as they are corrupt? You do realize that they not only condone the black market but also take bribes from them, don't you?" he snorted, "Or perhaps you think Lord Stevenson afforded that mansion off of five years of grunt work?"

"The police may not be that effective right now, but they could work to change things from within!" Suzaku shot back.

' _Like you think you can do to the Empire? Suzaku you're such an idiot. It would be endearing if it wasn't so dangerously stupid._ ' Lelouch thought darkly.

Kallen interjected herself into the conversation, "You can't change something like that from the bottom up Suzaku."

"Kallen is right." Milly frowned, "Anyone trying to do it like that would either get all tangled up in red tape and bureaucracy or end up quitting."

Suzaku shook his head in denial, "If they had done everything in their power to change things that might hold water. As long as they don't, then all of it's just self-righteous posturing."

"Self-righteous? Are you not even listening?" Lelouch's good mood was getting ruined. Kallen's eyes had narrowed, as had Milly's, "Cops are driven to cooperate with the Blue Wall of Silence. If they didn't they'd be driven out of the force entirely."

"Blue Wall of Silence?" Suzaku asked, not having heard the term before. Lelouch almost reached over and started to strangle him.

"Jeez Suzaku, even I know that one." Rivalz poked him with a casual smirk, "Basically it's an unwritten rule that cops follow. They don't report on colleagues' misdeeds, even if they're outright felonies. They just pretend to not have heard or seen anything. Keeps the whole 'brotherhood' feeling going, but it leads to a whole hell of a lot of corrupt cops."

"That's…"

"That's the reality Suzaku!" Kallen was grateful that she had sat down. Her fists were clenched on her lap, hidden by the table. She just couldn't understand how someone could be _this_ naïve and idealistic. "And even if it wasn't, the military wasn't getting anything done!"

Suzaku stood abruptly, "I have to get back to the base." He said shortly. This conversation was heading in direction he really didn't like, and he needed to cool off, "I'll see you all later." and walked stiffly from the room.

Lelouch merely clenched his jaw as he took his seat. Shirley winced as she looked at him, "I think I'll go do some diving. Shouldn't let the day go to waste huh?" She said weakly, before she left the room.

Rivalz also let out a groan, "Talk about getting heavy. I'll see you all later." His face fell, "Ugh, I have work… See ya." He followed Shirley out.

Milly walked over and took her place on his lap, trailing kisses down his jawline. He relaxed slowly under her ministrations before they shared a kiss, "I know he's your friend love… but he's not the sharpest tool in the shed." She said dryly.

He snorted, "It's not that. It's that he refuses to see the bad in things even if it dances naked in front of him." He nipped lightly at her earlobe, "Idealistic fool."

"Still, this give us an opportunity." Kallen spoke up from where she was sitting. She inclined her head towards the blushing Nina, "We never had the chance to find out what Nina's Geass does. Plus, we haven't been able to speak to Euphemia."

"That's right!" Milly said, "We haven't officially inducted either of them, have we? Let's go find C.C."

…

"C.C., I have a question." Kallen started off once they were all in Lelouch's room, "Why is it that only Lelouch seemed to have knowledge of what his Geass did when he first got it? I had no idea and Milly didn't either, initially."

"Not quite." C.C. said airily, "Euphemia seemed like she had an idea off the bat too. She just didn't use it that night." She stretched out, unknowingly driving Nina to supernova since she was only wearing one of Lelouch's shirts and a pair of panties, "She used it for the first time after we all separated and has used it quite a few times since then. It all really depends on the kind of power it is, I guess. I've only had one or two contractors before Lelouch who actually had a starting idea. Even then, all of them had to experiment with it to figure out its limits. Though to be honest, Lelouch used it far better than I had expected him to at first. I had honestly expected him to just command all of the Royal Guard to die."

He snorted, "And waste such valuable pieces of information? If I had done that we'd have been stomped by that damn Lancelot as I wouldn't have been prepared to observe and counter it. We definitely wouldn't have gotten the pieces off of it."

"Lancelot?" Nina asked, still pretty red and her glasses were slightly fogged up.

"Oh that's right. You don't know about it yet." Milly exclaimed, "It's Britannia's prototype Seventh Generation Knightmare Frame."

Lelouch smiled suddenly, "How about it Nina? Would you like me to put you into the Knightmare division?"

Nina fumbled with her words, "Well… I… Er…" She stopped and tried to take a calming breath, "I think I can help come up with new technology, but I'm not sure I have the head for Knightmares." She mumbled finally.

"Nonsense." Lelouch waved her off, "We know you're a genius Nina. In physics especially. You have to be more confident in yourself." He rubbed her head gently. She smiled shyly and started poking her fingers together, "Anyway, let's see what your Geass is, shall we?"

"O-okay!" All users of Geass instinctively knew how to activate it, so when Nina did and nothing happened, they were all quite stumped.

"It's conditional then." C.C. said, "We're going to have to figure out her condition. I can only tell that it has nothing to do with other people." She frowned, "It's quite strange. I've never felt one quite like this. It's the most unique feeling I've ever gotten from the activation of one of my contractor's Geass." That was what she was saying and none of it was a lie, but inwardly she was a different story, ' _It feels almost like Marianne's Geass…_ '

"Can you think of anything C.C.? Anything she could try, I mean?" Kallen asked the verdette.

"Try activating it while touching things." C.C. told the darker-verdette, "Some Geass allow you to imprint the effects. Euphemia's Geass can be used like that, though she can't use it again if she wants to keep the imprinted Geass active."

Nina felt more than a little silly as she went about touching things – Lelouch, his bed, his chair, the walls and lighting, etc. – and activating her Geass each time. She was starting to get disheartened before something finally happened. She had touched Lelouch's desktop and activated her Geass when she crumpled like a marionette with its strings cut. Kallen and Lelouch both dove to catch her and just barely managed to keep her from smashing her temple on the corner of the desk. "Nina! Nina are you okay?!" Milly yelped as she also rushed over to try to help.

"Oh…oh my!" They all froze as they heard Nina's voice. Only it wasn't coming from the girl. Every jaw in the room dropped as they looked at the computer screen. It had not only turned itself on, but Nina was now proudly displayed on the screen, "I… I think I just computed Pi to the ten-millionth digit." She sounded in awe of herself. Her face suddenly lit up in an absolutely spectacular blush, "LELOUCH! MILLY!" She sounded scandalized as she happened across a few _home videos_.

" _Is she in the computer?!_ " Kallen yelped incredulously.

"C.C., I thought Geass couldn't effect the outside world!" Lelouch turned to the witch and demanded an answer.

C.C. looked as flabbergasted as the rest of them, "I… _technically_ , it's still following the rules." She said slowly, "She appears to have inserted her mindor perhaps her _soul_ into the computer. Our thoughts are just electrical signals at their base. Yours doesn't work like that because a monitor has nothing to actually project the Geass… I…" She quirked a grin, "She hasn't _crossed_ the line exactly if its working the way I think it is, but damn if she isn't _straddling_ it and daring us to say something." She started to laugh.

"Her heartbeat has slowed a lot." Kallen said analytically as she held her fingers to the girl's jugular, "Its low enough that I would normally be slightly worried."

"Her breathing has slowed down as well." Milly replied.

"We should probably put her under an imaging test before and after she uses it." Lelouch looked a little troubled, though there was also a mad gleam in his eye, "We have to make sure she's not hurting herself." He started to grin, "But if she's okay…"

"This is going to be…" Milly continued.

"Revolutionary." Kallen breathed out.

He turned to Nina, "How do you feel?"

"Incredible!" She breathed, "I… does this count as an artificial intelligence?" She looked like she was about to start vibrating, "I can think completely like normal but I have the computational powers of a computer!" On the screen, she started hopping up and down, "I just did a calculation that normally would take a few minutes in seconds!" A new window opened up revealing their online physics textbook, "I feel like I just downloaded all of chapter one! I can remember every word and image perfectly! This is amazing!"

Lelouch started to chuckle, "I don't think I can even put into words how perfect this is for you, Nina." She blushed profusely, "But now we have to experiment." He turned serious as though he had flipped a switched, "Get back in your body." He ordered.

Nina pouted, but did as she was told. And that was where they immediately knew that this power wasn't without drawbacks, "I…I can't…" Nina sounded utterly strained, and the good feelings were being replaced by icy terror.

"I thought as much." Lelouch frowned, "I was afraid of this. Can you transfer through the internet to one of our phones?"

"I…" Nina looked like she was going to start hyperventilating,

"Calm down Nina." Milly said soothingly.

"We'll get you out of this." Kallen added as well.

"R-right!" She squeaked, "I… I don't want to get lost! Maybe if I knew where I was going…"

"Okay, let's end this." He said, and picked Nina up. He brought her over to the computer and put her hand on the mouse, "How about now?"

This time when Nina activated her Geass again, her body immediately reacted and she sucked in a gasp, "That…that was amazing… but very scary." She mumbled. She clapped a hand to her forehead, "But now I can recite the first chapter of our physics book verbatim. Ow." She cringed, "Owowowow!"

"Right, that'll be very dangerous." Kallen said, "Please _do not_ use your power if you're not sure that you're going to be able to get back to your body. We don't want you getting trapped." She gave her hand a little squeeze.

"R-right!" Nina said in confirmation, removing her hand from her head.

"We need to test this more." Lelouch said gravely, "This is probably the most dangerous Geass yet. We can't be without information on it. Are you okay to try again now that we know you'll be able to get back to your body Nina?"

"Yes!" She said, licking her dry lips.

"Then lay down on my bed." He ordered. She normally would have blushed at such a thing, but they were all in serious mode right now. Not even Milly made a wise crack. "Grab your cell phone and hold it when you use it."

Nina did so, and she clutched her cell over her chest in between her budding breasts. When she used her Geass, her hand went slack and she appeared on the tiny screen, "Success!" She hummed, "It looks like every device may have its own signature. This feels a little different from the other one."

"Brilliant! Try to memorize how that feels. Now come back." He handed her Kallen's phone, "Try that one." Once again, Nina appeared on the new phone. This time, she had been instructed to let it lie on her chest, proving that light clothes weren't a big deal, "Does it also feel unique? That's the same model of phone."

"Yes, it definitely feels unique." She confirmed, "I'll need to try more out to be sure, but I think your hypothesis was correct."

Milly and Kallen began to grin, "Now here's the important part… try to go from one phone to the other." Nina gulped, but did as she was told. The screen on her chest went dark and her own phone – which he was now holding – lit up, "Excellent!" He grinned, "Now try my computer." This time Nina had to screw her face up in concentration for a moment. Phone-to-phone had been done through the calling mechanism. This time she needed to use the internet. She already knew what Lelouch's computer 'felt' like though. So this time, it was a success. She appeared on his computer screen once more.

"This is amazing!" She was back to being excited, now that she was no longer afraid of getting stuck outside of her body.

"Yes it is. Nina, _make sure_ you _ALWAYS_ have your phone on your person if you're going to be using it. That way you'll be able to find your way back to your body." Milly said, making sure her friend was paying attention.

"I have to say, boya." C.C. sounded entirely too amused, "You haven't officially even begun your true campaign and you've already given me more entertainment than I've had in centuries."

"Glad to please." Lelouch rolled his eyes.

 **-]|[-**

"You're leaving, sister?" Euphie made sure to keep her face composed, but inwardly she was _beyond_ ecstatic to be away from her sister for a few days. The older woman had been so utterly overbearing in her mother-hen routine for the past two weeks that Euphie had honestly been contemplating drugging her so she could escape for a day. About the only thing she hadn't done was follow her into the bathroom… though that may have been because Euphie put her foot down.

Cornelia almost quirked her lips upward in a grin. She was fairly certain Euphie was just trying to get under her skin at this point, and if she were honest with herself she would know she deserved it. "I am." She didn't want to leave of course. Even two weeks after the Lake Kawaguchi incident, she still was hesitant to let Euphie out of her sight.

A state of affairs that had been _chaffing_ for the adventurous pink-haired girl. ' _Finally!_ ' She thought, though none of it showed on her face. She truly loved her sister, but at this point she was just eager for the older woman to be gone for a while. She was sixteen not six! Lelouch had told her to be sparing with her Geass until they could properly test it. Sure, she had done small little things with it, but nothing major yet. She was under the most scrutiny amongst them, and by far at that. She had been unable to meet with them even a single time since that night, and even phone calls were dangerous. The best they had been able to do were texts. "I assume you need to deal with the Refrain supply in this Area?"

"Correct." Cornelia nodded approvingly, "Productivity amongst the Elevens has fallen far too low. It's almost at unsustainable levels. This drug seems almost _designed_ to be addictive, rather than being addictive as a side effect. The weaker amongst the Eleven are getting hooked with a single use. It's causing what little money the Elevens make to leave the economy in larger numbers each and every day. Moreover, it is becoming more than a costly hassle to get users of it through the legal system when we catch them."

"Best way to stop all of it is to stop the supply then." Euphemia agreed, "Have we figured out where it is coming from?"

"China." Cornelia snorted derisively, "As if there were any doubt. It seems likely to me that there are officials in our government allowing it to happen. We'll have to clean house soon. But that's for another day. For now, I have to go destroy this Kyushu Refrain Route."

"Be careful sister." She smiled lightly.

"Of course." Cornelia looked around surreptitiously and saw that there was no one nearby, and poked her sister in the stomach, who jumped and let out a giggle, "I should be saying that to you. Honestly, I let you out of my sights for a day and you go and get taken hostage."

' _It was the best thing to ever happen, sister._ ' Euphie was jubilant on the inside, "It's a talent." Needling her sister had been about the only relief she'd had since the incident. "While you're gone, I'll get started on mopping up the officials allowing this to happen." Her smile turned into a grin, "We're even getting a bit of a helping hand. Zero and his merry band have destroyed over a dozen refrain depots already. What will we be doing about them?"

Cornelia sighed, but she was smiling, "I'll let them roam free a bit longer." Despite acting as if it were a forgone conclusion that she would be victorious, she had honestly been surprised by how prepared Zero was. If he was as talented on the battlefield as he was at pushing her buttons to get what he wanted, then she might even have some honest _fun_ , "I owe them that much for saving your life. And they have indeed been making my life easier by taking down some of the cartels that were too small to warrant military action. However, upon my return..." She trailed off, her meaning clear, "Once I've cleaned up this Area, I'll entrust it to you."

' _Oh sister…_ ' Euphie had to bite back a sigh, ' _Have you even bothered to ask if I_ want _to be in charge of this Area?_ ' Of course she hadn't. She loved her sister dearly, but _sometimes_ … She watched silently as her sister left – after giving her an affectionate kiss on the forehead – and the train departed. That was when Euphie finally allowed herself to smile mischievously. She turned and walked away, and to anyone watching, she was simply walking to her limo. None would ever know what she was truly up to.

…

"I do not wish to be disturbed tonight." She told the soldiers who had been assigned to patrol the hallway to her door.

"Yes, your Highness!"

She shut the door after their acknowledgement and as soon as she had done that, she practically ripped off her dress and rushed to get into some casual clothes. She put on a simple pale shirt and some jeans that she had hidden in her closet. Clothes that no one would think to look for royalty in. She finished it off with a pair of sunglasses and a hat, after removing the buns she usually kept her hair in. That done, her violet left eye turned a deeper purple and a red aura engulfed her and spread throughout the building.

She opened the door and walked out, the guards none-the-wiser to what was happening. To them, she was never there, nor had the door ever opened. It was what she wanted them to see, hear and feel, so it was what happened. She glanced down at her phone, which showed where Lelouch would be waiting. She walked calmly through the halls – unknowingly putting herself at risk every time she came into view of a camera – and left the building with no human the wiser. Once she knew of her power's limits, she would thank her lucky stars that no one had been paying attention to the cameras while she was walking through the palace.

She breathed deeply as she exited into the night air, which was brisk. She hurried out of the compound, and then walked about a block, before her eyes widened. A white Rolls Royce Ghost was sitting there with the engine purring. She almost started drooling over it when the door opened. "You're a Princess Euphie." Lelouch sounded amused, "What are you doing drooling over a car you could easily buy?" She hurried inside and proceeded to grab him in one of the tightest hugs he'd ever experienced, "It's good to see you too." He hugged back while he smirked in amusement.

She let go as she bit back a snort, "Please, you think sister would let poor little Euphie do something as dangerous as _drive._ " She sounded miserable as she got into the seat next to him and marveled at the decor, "I've had my license for six months and she refuses to let me get a car." She started grumbling angrily to herself.

"Man, and here I thought you royals had it made." Euphie jumped as Kallen's sarcastic voice popped up behind her.

"Oh, hello everyone!" Euphie turned around as Lelouch started to drive, "I didn't know we all would be meeting." Nina, Kallen and Milly were all in the back.

Milly waved cheerily, "How are you, Euphie? How has Cornelia been?"

"Oh lord." Euphie groaned, sinking into her seat, "I thought she was bad before. It's been two weeks and the only reason she isn't attached to me like a limpet is that she went to go take out a Refrain route. It's been _suffocating_ around her."

"Hence why you are not going to be telling her we're alive yet." Lelouch chuckled, reaching over and gripping her hand. She blushed lightly as they entwined their fingers.

"Maybe I should!" She teased and poked her tongue out at him, "Maybe I could escape it for a few days if she has her attention on you or Nunna!"

"Don't make me pull this car over, young lady." Lelouch mock glared at her. The girls all started to giggle.

Euphie realized something, "Oh, where is Miss C.C.?"

"That maniac went on ahead." Milly grumbled, "She wanted to drive and I had to put my foot down on that."

"If there's even a scratch on that car…" Lelouch trailed off darkly.

"You have another car?" Euphie sounded amused, "Lulu are you a car nut?"

"Yes!" Came the unanimous voices from the back seat.

Kallen sounded amused, "This one is his and he has two Aston Martins on top of it. That I know about."

"Just because I appreciate…" Euphie started giggling as Lelouch indignantly started winding up for a tirade.

…

"…" Euphie couldn't say a word. She was honestly in awe. They had finally sat down to discuss things after being given the grand tour, as it were, "You managed to put all of this together yourself?"

"No." He sighed, "It had already been built by the time we came to Japan. It was a secret base that only Ruben Ashford knew of by that point in time."

Euphie put her hand gently on his arm, "Your mother had it built?"

He only nodded, and she hugged him gently. He returned it with feeling, glad to be able to be with her like this once more. He felt her lips lightly on his cheek, before she backed away, a very light tinge of red on her cheeks.

"The Ashfords were amazing." Nina mumbled. She had been ecstatic to see such a gigantic bureau of scientific knowledge. She almost didn't want to leave.

"It was a pity to see what happened to them." Euphie frowned, "I was too young at the time. All I knew was that one of my friends disappeared one day…and no one would tell me why."

Milly reached over and held her hand gently, "I really missed you too Euphie…"

Kallen pursed her lips slightly. Yet more evidence that not all of Britannia was full of those she hated. Not like she truly needed it at this point, and yet there it was. Lelouch turned Euphie's attention to him again, "Euphie, before we do anything else, I would like to know… Has Nelia discovered anything at all about mother's murder?"

"No." Euphie shook her head, "She investigated for years, but never found a thing…" She bit her lip, "Though knowing of our father's Geass… it makes me wonder."

Lelouch kept his surprise to a very slight raise of his eyebrow. He hadn't even considered that possibility, and it rather irked him that he hadn't. How in the world could he be sure that any information he could get would even be accurate with Charles using his Geass whenever it suited him? He clicked his teeth, "That is… annoying. I had not considered that possibility, though I should have." He shook his head, "Regardless, focusing on it will do us no good. Let's get on to other matters." He leaned back and crossed his arms, "What have you been able to learn of your Geass, Euphie?"

"A decent amount… though I confess that it isn't quite what I had expected when you told me it was our desires given shape." She confessed, "With it, I seem to be able to cast illusions. Anyone in its area sees, hears and feels what I want them to. I can also put a stationary illusion on something as a focus, but I can't control it if I do. Instead, it makes others see what they want to see. I guess you could say it uses their own expectations against them. I also can't use the regular version if I want to keep the other one active." She giggled, "I drove a few soldiers up the wall, making them jump at shadows."

"No, I think that actually fits you perfectly." This surprisingly came from Kallen.

"Oh, how so?" Euphie raised an eyebrow.

"From what Lelouch has told me, you've constantly been forced by your elder sister to do what is expected of you rather than what you want to do." She said gently, almost commiserating with the girl. She too _had_ an overprotective older sibling, only she had been capable of strong-arming him herself, "From what I've been able to guess… you don't care for your title or any of the many expectations heaped on you."

Euphie winced playfully, "Guilty as charged." She sighed, "I know sister means well but she's _stifling_ at times. She wants to make me the Viceroy here once the terrorism is squashed out, without even asking me if I _want_ the job."

Milly giggled, "Kallen's right… it is perfect. Subconsciously, you want to rid yourself of the expectations everyone has of you. What better way to do that then to make them believe what you want them to believe? As long as nothing requires you to do something that leaves a mark such as signing a form… You could have them thinking you're working while in reality, you're relaxing." She smirk, "And you can play pranks with it of course, you little devil."

"Devil? Me?" Euphie had such an angelic look on her face that Kallen almost gagged.

"It is quite an interesting power indeed." A new voice popped up as C.C. waltzed into the room.

"Oh, hello miss C.C." Euphie waved politely.

C.C. waved her off, "None of that now. C.C. is more than fine." She sat and put her legs up on the closest lap, which happened to be Kallen's. The redhead raised an eyebrow and looked down. C.C. shot her a look that basically said 'deal with it.'

Kallen rolled her eyes, "Yes your majesty. Would you care for a foot rub your majesty?"

The sarcasm practically dripped off of her tone, so C.C. clearly decided to ignore it, "Sounds good, minion. Get to it." The haughtiness was even more apparent on _her_ tone. Kallen tried to shove her feet off of her lap, but C.C. merely smirked and gave Kallen a small show of her true strength. Kallen could barely even get her to budge. The redhead eventually huffed and crossed her arms. C.C. gave Kallen the peace sign for her victory, "Anyway, I can think of at least one major possible weakness, girl."

"That being?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"The obvious one, boya." C.C. said lazily, "Cameras and other recording equipment."

Euphie stiffened, "Oh dear."

Lelouch took out his phone and began recording, "Euphie, if you please?"

Euphie mentally cringed at the thought of this weakness being confirmed. If true, she would have to make sure tonight's footage was destroyed, "Here I go." She help back a giggle and activated her Geass, deciding to turn the entire room – and everything in it, barring themselves – pink and have it smell of cotton candy. She giggled at the poleaxed looks on their faces.

"Oh good lord, that smells tasty." Milly drooled.

"I want cotton candy now." Nina deadpanned as she looked around the pink room.

"And while I can certainly smell it…" Lelouch said dryly, "I'm afraid C.C. was right. The room hasn't changed on the camera." Euphie bit back a curse. That would unladylike, "Can you focus it on one person, Euphie? Or is it always an Area of Effect?"

"I can try." She bit her lip, and tried changing things up.

"Back to normal for me." Kallen said, with the other two girls backing her up.

"The screen has changed, though now it isn't matching what I'm recording." Lelouch said, "The color is right, but because you're not sure what I'm recording at any given moment, its visibly causing the image to tear and warp."

"And it hurts!" Euphie complained as she clapped a hand to her head and shut it off, "Ow…owowow…"

"Welcome to the headache club." Milly enthusiastically held up her hand for a high-five, which got a dirty look from the pink-haired Princess. "Eeesh, touchy." She stuck her tongue out playfully. Nina started to giggle and Kallen smirked.

"We have more tests to do, but that's for another time." Lelouch said, and smirked at Kallen, "Thanks to Euphie, we have the exact designs for Gloucesters as well as Sutherlands."

"Really?" Kallen sat up, "But I thought we already had the Guren? And isn't Rakshata already getting started on creating your prototype?"

"We'll still need units for our foot soldiers." He chided, "And that also means that we'll finally be able to create a baseline for the very best – well, _almost_ the very best _–_ Britannia currently has to offer and what we'll need to aim for in our own units. Until then, these will serve their purpose."

Milly giggled, "Those Burai units were as bad as we feared."

"First mass-produced Japanese units my ass." Kallen complained, forcing Nina to blush sharply, "Those pieces of junk were just Glasgows with chest-cannons and reinforced arms. A single bullet from even a Sutherland rifle was enough to wreck one. Even my old hunk of junk Glasgow was put together better than that."

"And what a shapely ass it is." Milly waggled her eyebrows.

Nina turned crimson, "Madam President!" She squeaked in shock. Kallen rolled her eyes and started gently petting Nina's head.

Euphie turned to Lelouch in surprise, "Aren't you two… erm…"

"Dating?" Lelouch chuckled, "Yes."

Euphie slowly started to blush, "Oh, so you're just cherry-picking the parts of Britannia you like, huh?" Lelouch shrugged sheepishly, "Lulu!"

"Wait!" Nina finally caught on, as Kallen had turned pink. She snapped her head back and forth, looking to Milly's lecherous grin and Kallen's blushing face, before her own face practically went iridescent, "You mean…?!" Steam almost started to shoot out of her ears.

"Moving on!" Kallen coughed sharply, trying to get past her embarrassment, "Don't we have Knightmares to test!" She shot at Lelouch in desperation.

"Yeah…" Lelouch stretched and stood up. He bent over and wrapped Euphemia in a hug, which she happily returned, "It's good to have you back, Euphie. I really did miss you," "

"There wasn't a day where I didn't dream you were still alive." She whispered, enjoying the feel of being in his arms, "This is the happiest I've been in years." She admitted and pecked him on the cheek, "Don't you dare leave me again!"

"Never." Lelouch smirked and straightened up, before turning to Kallen, "Shall we, gorgeous?"

"Damn it Lelouch!" Kallen followed the black-haired teen out of the room, leaving an almost catatonic Nina, a cackling C.C., and a blushing Euphemia.

Lelouch called back over his shoulder, "Can you drive Euphie back to the palace Milly? Until we're more secure, she shouldn't be here too often. Even with Nelia away, it's a bit too risky."

"Sure. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, you two!" She waved cheerily. Kallen and Lelouch almost stopped and turned to stare incredulously at her. Almost.

…

" _Wait, why am I in the Sutherland?_ " Kallen complained. She had refused to get inside until it had been painted crimson, just the way she liked it.

" _Because you're the better pilot._ " Lelouch deadpanned, " _We both know full well you'd beat me easily if you were in the better machine._ " The Gloucester was another Britannian mass-produced unit like the Sutherland. In fact – though heavily modified – it was based off of the other unit, which was the current backbone of the Britannian army. The Gloucester featured everything the Sutherland did, though enhanced and refined to a much higher degree. The Gloucester was much more agile, with enhanced servomotors capable of much quicker and more twitchy movements. Everything was generally made of higher quality material.

He typed out something on a keyboard, " _Now, our weapons are standard but they've been dulled. Try to avoid kill shots anyway._ **"** He said dryly, " _Our guns have been adjusted so that they don't fire rapidly enough to pierce armor. Otherwise, treat this as a legitimate battle._ " He then jerked, " _No Geass!_ "

He finished typing just as he said this, and the entire field started to change as parts of the ground rose into the air, creating an urban terrain. Neither he nor Kallen knew which gate the other would come out of, so this had the added effect of blocking their vision of the other until they met up. " _Fine then! Let's go!_ " he heard her voice sounding particularly bloodthirsty, and he started to wonder if perhaps all of his teasing hadn't been a bad idea today.

Lelouch shot out from his gate and immediately used his Landspinners to climb up the sides of two of the buildings created for this simulation. He forced his machine to leap onto one of the towers and carefully scanned the area, the faceplate opening up and revealing his Factsphere. Immediately, he saw Kallen and cursed when he realized that she had seen him first. He dodged the gunfire by leaping from his vantage point and firing his Slash Harkens. He alternated the strength of the pulling to dodge the gunfire while simultaneously taking aim.

" **Holy shit Lelouch!** " Kallen gasped as she danced around the bullets, " **You say you're not as good as me but you're a hell of a shot!** " She dodged the gunfire herself by racing up the buildings and performing her own harken-assisted acrobatics. Finally, a stray bullet caught her assault rifle and knocked it out of her hand. She bit back another curse as she finally got comfortably close to the other machine. She released one of her anchors rapidly and reeled it in. The second it was remounted, she fired it again and took out Lelouch's own rifle.

"Damn it!" He growled and brought his jousting lance to bare. The two machines hit the ground almost at the same time and charged. Kallen ducked under his lance – making his eyes shoot open – and forced one of her Landspinners to the limit in an attempt to sweep his feet out from under him. He jumped the spinning sweep kick and whirled around in the air, firing his Slash Harkens.

She completed her spin and fired back, " **Like hell!** " The four Slash Harkens smashed into each other midair and deflected. They reeled back to their respective slots and crashed into them. " **I'm not the best with this stupid lance.** " She growled angrily.

" **Neither am I!** " He shot back in amusement, " **Personally I think they're rather silly. You need to charge directly at the enemy to use them optimally. The Maser Vibration Sword we're trying to piece together from the Lancelot data is much better I think.** " He hummed, " **I definitely think we should convince Rakshata to add those Harken Boosters we recovered from the Lancelot to the Guren and my unit. The Radiant Wave Surger will be far more useful with greater range.** " He swiped his lance down, using it more like a large club that anything at this point.

" **It** _ **can**_ **extend at the elbow, but you're right.** " She agreed as she dodged the inelegant whack of the lance, but cursed as it had been only a distraction. One of Lelouch's Slash Harkens tore through her arm which had been holding the lance, though she caught the other one and crushed it. She launched her own Harkens, which Lelouch countered with his Gloucester's Stun Tonfa. She rapidly kicked out, and Lelouch couldn't react in time. He had raised his own knee to check it, but hadn't gotten it up high enough. The two hunks of metal impacted with a gigantic crash and Lelouch's leg tore clean off with a screech and splashes of sparks. " **Looks like I win!** " She sounded perfectly smug as she stood above his downed machine.

He rolled his eyes, " **As if there was a doubt.** "

" **Hey, don't sell yourself short!** " She frowned at him, " **You're far more accurate than I am and you have better movement in the air. I'm just better at melee.** "

" **I was in the better unit.** " He reminded her, " **If we both were in Gloucesters I would just be the better shot. The Harkens on the Gloucester are more advanced than the Sutherland.** "

" **You both did wonderfully.** " Rakshata sounded vaguely annoyed, " **Kallen had a sync rate of 100% with that toy, while Lelouch was at 96% with his. So stop squabbling and get the field cleaned up. We have children to design AND enhance!** "

Lelouch and Kallen both started to chuckle as Rakshata ended her annoyed intercom call. " **Well, you heard the lady**." Kallen climbed out of the Sutherland.

"Let's get some rest Kallen. We have another raid in about five hours." Lelouch also leapt from his Gloucester and brushed himself off as the technicians started driving into the room on forklifts. The room had dismantled itself and was now a uniform field once more.

She groaned, "Damn it. I forgot!" She cursed out loud, "I should have just suggested we get some sleep instead."

"Given the context of that conversation…" Kallen flushed as Lelouch's grinning face filled her vision, "You could have just asked if you wanted to share my bed."

"Shut up!" She growled.

"Come on. I won't bite." He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she let out a yawn as she did the same, resting her head on him as they walked.

 **-]|[-**

Naomi Kōzuki had not been having a good decade. Ever since Japan had been invaded and conquered seven years ago, things had gone from bad to worse. She had lost her husband, lost her identity, nationality and even almost lost her family. She had begged and pleaded for her lover to make sure Kallen would be his heir, and it was only luck that had allowed it to come true. The wife chosen for her noble husband had been barren, which had allowed him to make sure Kallen was his heir.

Her beautiful daughter had been such a wonderful, cheery child. She remembered all of the times she turned in the highest marks possible in school, and all of her other talents. It had all gone terribly wrong then. Her father vanished. Her mother had fallen to the position of a lowly maid, forced to keep her head low to be able to even stay close to her family. Her daughter closed up. She was only herself with her older brother, who she adored probably more than she loved her parents. After Naoto's death, she became even colder. Their relationship had already been strained. She knew her daughter didn't like seeing her mother be ridiculed. But there was nothing else she could do if she wanted to stay close.

But after Naoto's death… Kallen had become increasingly rude. Later, Naomi would know that she was trying to force her away, so that she would stop being all-but-tortured by her cruel masters. But at the time, it made her think her wonderful, kind, sweet daughter had fallen to her Britannian side. That she would become as cruel as her mistress. And so Naomi had made the worst mistake of her life.

She had fallen for the trap of Refrain. It was cheap, and it was readily available. It was said to make all your worries go away. That first night had been wonderful. All she could think about was the amazing dream she'd been living. A free Japan. Her entire family together. Naoto alive. A loving husband. Her wonderful daughter smiling as brightly as she always had. She was lost in her greatest memories for hours and hours.

And then the drug had worn off, and the world looked all the duller. Everything looked dark and dreary and unexciting. Colors weren't as bright for a few hours. Her food didn't taste good. Sounds seemed to be muted a tad. Her husband was still gone and she would never see him again. Naoto was still dead and her heart was still broken. Kallen still hated her and treated her poorly. And it all hurt all the worse, because of that fleeting taste of joy she'd had. She swore she would never take it again, because even if it gave her an amazing euphoria… the aftermath hurt all the worse.

She lasted a month before she'd broken that promise. She'd succumbed again one evening when she had walked into the tiny closet they called her room – and in a mansion the size of the one they all lived in, a 7 x 11 room with a single twin-sized mattress and a dresser could be called nothing _but_ a closet – and had seen the wonderful new piece of graffiti reading, ' _We'll kill you._ ' After she had once again been scolded by the daughter she wanted nothing more than to hold tight and never let go. Her heart – and resolve – broken, she had submitted once again.

And she was happy.

Everything was just… _amazing_. Her husband loved her, and so did her children. Everything was perfect. The thunder rumbling in the air and the rain pounding on her window should have left her depressed as it reflected her mood. Her daughter hated her and her life had fallen apart… She should have been wondering if there had been anything she could have done to avoid all of this. If there was any way they could have kept their world from coming apart at the seams.

But instead she just felt… happy. Life was beautiful. Everyone was together. They were a loving family. Japan had never been invaded. Refrain was a wonder drug. Refrain was better than anything she could possibly experience in her dreary life. Refrain made everything okay. Refrain made her wishes a reality. Refrain made everything bad happening to her worth it. _Refrain made life worth living._

Refrain started to build up a tolerance. _Fast_. Refrain started costing a lot more of her meager salary. How the hell had she gotten high off a single dose before? She started getting the shakes. Her fingers lost their dexterity. She started dropping things and breaking them. The servants started ridiculing her more. Her daughter looked at her like she was a bug. She tried to stop. She didn't want to get fired. She needed to be close to Kallen. She stopped taking it, but then her skin started to itch. She started jumping at shadows. She woke up screaming in the middle of the night, thinking ants were crawling all over her. She just didn't feel normal. She _needed_ it.

And then came that day. That _wonderful_ day. Kallen still _loved_ her. It had all been a misunderstanding, because neither of them _spoke_ to one another. Neither of them told the other what they wanted. Kallen just hadn't wanted to see her so mistreated and hadn't known how to make it stop. That was why she kept trying to push her away. She had utterly broken down in relief and joy inside of her room, sobbing into her pillow for hours. Her daughter still wanted to be with her. Oh, how long had she dreamed of being able to embrace her daughter? For how many years had she longed to hear her little girl call her mom? She had been bombarded by the good feelings and had been in such euphoria that she never even thought of Refrain. She was so eager for a fresh start with Kallen that she almost slipped from the drug's grasp.

Only Kallen was gone a lot of the time. She was never home nowadays, and hadn't even come home that day. She didn't know why her daughter was so exhausted all the time or where she was, but for once Naomi had been glad she hadn't seen her daughter again that day. She didn't want to ruin her daughter's life, and she just _knew_ that she would be discovered if she left this house. Hell, they might even discover her if they came to move her things. So she had not brought the topic up again and instead resolved to just try to get to know her little girl again. But that never happened. Instead, whenever she saw Kallen she was dead to the world on her mattress. Her wonderful daughter didn't have time for her. Her skin started to itch again. Her shakes had gotten worse again. Refrain still had her in its insidious grasp and it wanted its due.

Her skin was sallow and her eyes sunken. Her breath was coming out of her in short little gasps. If her teeth had been chattering she would have looked like she had a fever. The key trembled in her hand and she missed the keyhole many times. There were dozens of little scratches on the wood already. Finally the key found purchase and the drawer slipped open. She picked up one of the little bottles, only to drop it. Empty. She picked up another. And another.

And another.

Empty. And empty again. All of them were empty.

 **-]|[-**

"Man, what the hell is Zero thinking?" Thankfully they had finally trained an 'inside voice' into Tamaki, so he wasn't currently blowing the operation by being too loud. "After all his talk about bringing down Britannia, he's just got us running around helping the police."

"Idiot." Kallen snorted from her place atop a crimson Gloucester. Its lance was pitch-black. She marveled at what Lelouch and Milly were truly capable of. Their hidden facility was truly a wonder. She _was_ rather annoyed that she had to leave her Guren in storage for now, but she at least understood Lelouch's reasoning. There was absolutely no reason to risk having the Guren seen and analyzed before it could have its big debut in an actual battle against Britannia. "The Black Knights have been getting hundreds of applicants. Most of them aren't trained soldiers though, and many of them are being rejected as lost causes like those idiots from the Yamato alliance. He's training us – the original members – as commanders. He can't personally train every single person after all."

Oghi smiled lightly, "She's right. We're currently seen as heroes on the net. We even have some Britannians wanting to join us. It feels pretty good to have the will of the people behind us. But as he said, will alone does nothing. We have to make sure our cute little kouhai know what they're doing."

She continued, "Besides that, ending Refrain abuse is really key. That drug is _horrible_." She scowled at the very thought of it, "We can hardly be Knights of Justice if we allow it to exist."

"You have a point." Tamaki grumbled, "Man, where the hell did Zero even get a Gloucester from, much less a custom one?" Tamaki had turned around and immediately started pouting in jealousy as he stared at the red Knightmare. He had been whining about not being allowed to touch it for half a week already.

She glared lightly, "Even after all this time you're still doubting him?"

"The amount of resources he has must be staggering." Oghi mumbled to himself, staring at the Gloucester.

"There's the signal from Zero!" Minami caught their attention. On the other side, a green laser pointer was clicking on and off.

"How the hell does he always manage it?" Yoshida wondered aloud.

"Using whatever trick he always does." Tamaki groused, still rather annoyed that his limelight was being taken away.

' _Oh you have no idea, you moron._ ' Kallen smirked lightly as she jumped backwards into the cockpit and her Gloucester came to life, ' _You have no idea._ '

…

"Is the shipment for Nagoya ready?" One of the Refrain distributers was asking.

"The Settlement is such a _gift_. Everything is nice and safe here." Another was smirking as he loaded up a box, "Greased palms in the right places work wonders."

After all of the trouble Cornelia and the Black Knights had been causing, he really should have thought before he spoke. Gunfire started ripping through the thin sheet metal of the garage door. Metal screeched as it was weakened enough to be kicked down. Several men were already dead or dying from the gunfire, as figures quickly stepped inside, "The Black Knights have arrived!" Tamaki roared arrogantly.

"Intruders!" Several people with their own guns started to show up as the Black Knights tore through most of the gangsters who had simply been working, and started shooting back. The second they did that, they regretted it, "SHIT! IT'S A KNIGHTMARE! FUCK THIS!" They turned tail and ran like the cowards they were as Kallen sped inside like a vengeful goddess.

"Disgusting pigs!" She yelled, as her anti-personnel chest-cannon began mowing down gangsters and others who enjoyed profiting off of people's suffering. Her assault cannon was making equally short work of the men, and she was even turning it on the stacks of boxes, sending shards of glass and liquid raining about the warehouse floor.

She crashed straight through another sliding garage door, which didn't even slow her Knightmare in the slightest, "Oh lord…" She bit her lip as she screeched to a halt and her Factsphere took in all of the people doped up on refrain, "Damn it all!" She punched her console.

"Japan! Japan! Japan!" One man was yelling.

"That's right, I'm getting married next month!" A woman sounded absolutely jubilant.

"I've been promoted! I'm going to the Paris office!"

"Leave it to us! Japan is on the vanguard of technology so there won't be any issues!"

"This fucking drug!" She hissed furiously.

Her sensors zeroed in on someone she recognized. A few days back, she had been walking around the settlement with Lelouch and Milly when they had come across a gang of Britannians who had been beating on a poor Japanese hot dog vendor. It had been proof of the changing attitudes amongst Britannians that they had been looking on in disgust. Some of them had even tried to get the thugs to stop, only to quickly back away when threatened. To be fair, none of them had looked like they had ever so much as broken a nail much less gotten into a fight. Either way, it had really gotten her irritated, so she had started stalking up to teach the thugs a lesson. Lelouch had quickly ended things with his Geass though, before she had managed to get any stress relief. "I'm studying abroad! I can't believe I got in!"

She growled in disgust, before her breath caught in her throat, "No…" She looked utterly crestfallen as she heard the one voice she wanted to hear the least.

"Careful, careful! It's dangerous to run like that!" Her mother was chasing after something only she could see, before tripping over.

Kallen jerked into action and caught her gently, letting go of her lance which crashed to the floor, "No! Mom!" Kallen sounded absolutely disconsolate, "Please no! Tell me this isn't true!"

It was to no avail. "Really, Naoto. Please, I need you to keep an eye on your little sister."

"Damn it all!" Kallen started to sob, "Was it because of me? IS THAT WHY?! MOM!" Only she didn't have enough time for much else, because her sharp ears caught gunfire, and not of the handheld variety. The second that happened, she activated her Geass and jerked her machine forward, dodging the gunfire from the Knightpolice Knightmare. There was no way she was going to risk her mother getting hit like this. " **You fucking corrupt pigs!** " She roared out.

The bullets from the machine pistols were spewing out with a high-pitched whine, and Kallen dodged every one of them, even moving her left arm out of the way of some of the bullets, which kept her mother alive. She raced around a set of shelves and disappeared from the sight of the refurbished police Glasgow. Her cockpit popped open and she gently dropped her mother onto her lap. The cockpit slammed back inside the Gloucester, "I'm here for you. I'm here for you, Kallen. Just as I always have been."

She held her mother tightly for a moment as she stared listlessly at the walls, completely unseeing. "I know mom." Her lip trembled as she wiped tears from her eyes, "I know." She raced out and fired at the approaching Knightpolice. Its guns exploded as Kallen dodged past its anti-Knightmare knife. She raced back to where she had dropped her lance and picked it up, whirling around in the same motion. With a roar that did nothing to disguise her anguish and fury, she charged forward and speared straight through the Knightpolice's cockpit. She kept forcing it backward even though the fight was already over, and practically stapled it to the wall.

She let out a shuddering sigh as her mother's elated voice piped up again, "I'm so happy for you Kallen... You can finally become a Britannian now. Nobody will ever be able to hurt you now, darling. And you're free to travel and use the phone anytime you want."

She clutched onto her mother and _bawled_.

" **Q1**!" Zero's voice sounded urgent. She looked up at her monitor and he was standing next to her in his own black Gloucester, " **The authorities will be here soon. We have to move. Don't worry. We'll get your mother to our base as soon as possible. We'll do everything we can for her…** "

" **Thank you L…ord Zero.** " She just barely managed to choke back his real name.

 **-]|[-**

"She'll be alright Kallen." Lelouch had a somber note to his voice as he held Kallen's hand in support, "Eventually."

"Why can't she talk?" Kallen asked in a dull voice. She looked so uncharacteristically like her school mask that it hurt her friends to see her like this.

"An aftereffect of Refrain." Milly said sadly, "She's been on it for months… maybe even years. We can't pinpoint when she first took it… only that there was a surprisingly large gap in between it and the second dose."

"I'm such a fool!" Kallen cried furiously, "If only I had paid more attention to her! If only…"

Lelouch wrapped his arms behind his Red Queen from behind, "You couldn't have known…Kallen. Don't fall for the trap of what ifs. It'll only lead you to madness."

"Your mom is going to be okay, Kallen." Milly said gently, as she wrapped her up in a hug from the front as well, "Take strength from this. We're working to make sure this never has to happen again."

Kallen finally wiped her tears away and put on a brave face, "Th-that's right." She sniffled, "Things will be different when you're better, mom! We'll be able to live a normal life again! So please…" She broke and started to shake again, only to gasp.

Her mother – who had been practically unresponsive since she had been brought in – had shakily grasped her hand. Her voice was weak, as if she wasn't used to using it anymore, "Hang in there... Hang in there, Kallen... My little girl..."

Kallen's tears turned happy and she gave her mother a brilliant, watery smile, "I will! I'll do my best, mom!"

 **-]|[-**

 **And donezo.**

 **The middle parts of this chapter just** _ **did not**_ **want to get written for some reason. Despite being shorter than chapter 5 by half, it probably took more total time than the other. It took a wee bit more editing than normal to get it the way I wanted too. I'm not entirely happy with one or two scenes, but I can't really put my finger on why. Either way, they're relatively minor so I'm not going to delay the chapter.**

 **Probably the part I had the easiest time with was Mrs. Kōzuki's descent, which was surprising. Not being a drug user myself, it can be difficult to try to put myself in the mindset of an addict. But there was a** _ **really**_ **poignant post on reddit that helped me out. If you've read it, you probably know which one I'm talking about. I actually took a line or two from it with a tiny bit of editing to fit CG. It's just… haunting… and it was exactly what I needed to help write out the Refrain bit.**

 **So, what did you guys think of Nina and Euphie's Geass? Some of you knew they were coming since I discussed it with a couple of you, but I imagine more than a few of you were probably caught out with Euphie's Geass especially. Hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Turn 07 - Crushing Earth

**How we doing everyone? Initially I was going to do all of Narita in one go, but ultimately I decided to tear the chapter in half. It wouldn't be Code Geass without** _ **some**_ **cliffies would it? Haha**

 **Didn't get as much writing done as I had wanted the past three weeks. Only got one chapter and some change out of it instead of the two I had hoped for. Ended up doing a whole lot of editing and expansion to the next three instead.**

 **I liked the responses to the new Geass I introduced. I'd like to mention something about Nina's; Yes, I'm aware that brains and computers don't think in the same way. Work with me here.**

 **Keep the Knightmares and weaponry/technology coming!**

 **Once again, thanks to X009 for his help on designing the mass production Knightmare debuting in this chapter.  
**

 **-]|[-**

 **Turn 07 – Crushing Earth**

 **-]|[-**

"…word that the Japan Liberation Front is sending Tōdō and his Four Holy Swords to us within the week."

The oldest of the men sitting around the fire had his arms crossed, "Then it is truly your intention to gift them our new Burai-Kai units to test?" Almost his entire face was covered in a beard and he was a bear of a man. He looked more like what one would have expected of an old Britannian than an old Japanese. He even wore a top hat.

Another shook his head silently, "The JLF have gotten rather hard to support of late." He said softly, "Support for them has dropped to an all-time low. Not that that's saying much. They haven't had good recruitment since the goodwill of Tōdō's victory ran dry." He had a gray goatee and mustache and his gray hair was done in a ponytail. His features were pretty sharp, and a fu manchu wouldn't have looked out of place on his face.

"Do you doubt Tōdō's ability, Kubouin-dono?" The man who had initially started the conversation – one Tatsunori Osakabe – was younger looking than his compatriots. He had a full head of hair and long sideburns reaching to his chin.

Hidenobu Kubouin shook his head, "I do not doubt his ability, merely his actions. There is no doubt that Tōdō is a good leader and he is an excellent combatant. However, he is also accustomed to sitting in his tent if he feels a situation isn't a hundred percent in his favor or if he does not have enough information. When was the last time Tōdō took a risk? How many operations has he called off? How many of those do we now know would have been successful if they had just taken a chance? One in particular was a disastrous waste. We could have had dozens of intact Sutherlands to examine."

"That has kept the Japan Liberation Front alive." Osakabe protest, "they-"

"Have been stagnating for years." The bearded man rumbled.

"You as well, Munakata-dono?" Osakabe could hardly believe the way the conversation had turned. He began to bluster, "Regardless, Tōdō is already coming. It is a bit too late to deny him the Knightmares now."

"That is correct." Munakata allowed, "But I will not agree to any more unless I see some results."

Osakabe relaxed, but he frowned as well, "I don't see why not. It's not like there is anyone else that we could give them to."

"Isn't there?" A female voice spoke up for the first time, and all of the men turned their heads to the young woman sitting seiza behind a screen-door.

Osakabe sneered, "You speak of Zero again, Kaguya- _hime_?" He crossed his own arms now, "Your infatuation is apparent."

"And your own pride prevents you from seeing what is right in front of your nose, Osakabe-dono." She replied daintily, as she took a sip from her green tea. She was the only female in the Six Houses of Kyoto, and by far the youngest member of the most powerful and exclusive group in Japan. She was wearing a kimono in various shades of red, white and pink. Her black hair was long and perfectly combed. She had a golden circlet with a single red gem on her head, with her bangs falling over it on the sides of her face.

He growled, "I refuse to support that man! You saw what he did just the same as I did! He admitted on live TV that he killed Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe himself!" He just barely held himself back from slamming a fist down, "Not to mention he won't even show us his face! What exactly does he have to hide?!"

"Then am I to assume you are for the slaughter of unarmed civilians as well?" Kaguya's voice held nothing but calmness, but it was clear to all of them that her words held venom. "Think what you want about him, but unlike the Japan Liberation Front he actually provides _results_."

Osakabe turned red, and was about to retort when Munakata spoke, "He indeed provides results." He said calmly, "And yet not with our support. Nor for that matter, has he provided any results _against_ Cornelia. By all reports, Clovis was as foolish a General as he was an ineffectual leader. All he has done since the Black Knights announced their existence is take out Refrain dens. A noble objective to be sure, but not anything that makes me want to provide more resources to him."

Osakabe smirked, "That's right! He has done nothing to prove himself in actual combat!" He said triumphantly, "He has not even deigned to use the gifts you had us provide to him! There has not been a single report of our Burai OR the Guren!"

Kaguya smiled slightly, "Indeed. There have not."

Kubouin was frowning lightly, "It is slightly worse than that, my friends. I have been in contact with one Kaname Oghi recently. I was the one who initially supplied that Glasgow to them after all. From what he's told me, we will never see our Burai in the Black Knights hands. They've turned them into training simulators. Even he hasn't seen the Guren."

"What!" Osakabe shouted, "Of all the nerve! Does this masked idiot intend to insult us?!"

"My, my, your bias is showing, Osakabe-dono." Kaguya smiled demurely behind her sleeve.

"What was that?!" He stared furiously at her, "Did you not hear what he did with our gifts?"

"I heard fine." Kaguya replied coolly, "And if you weren't so set on disliking Zero-sama you might even be inclined to think on what his reasoning could be in rejecting perfectly good Burai." She stared disdainfully at the man, as if he were a bug. Of all of the Six Houses, Tatsunori Osakabe was the one she got along with the least.

He sneered back at her, "Oh, do enlighten me then."

She held back a smile, eager to tear strips into his hide, "Very well then, Osakabe-dono. First, his tearing down of our Burai into training simulators indicates to me that he has full intention of fighting against Britannia. He merely does not intend to do so with our Burai. Now, why might that be?" She took another small sip from her tea, "Would my Lords care to remind themselves of what exactly our Burai are?" She smirked lightly behind her cup as she saw Osakabe clench his fists, "No? Then allow me. Our Burai are Glasgow frames that have had their hand-to-hand abilities reinforced through our modifications to their arms. They also had a single anti-personnel cannon underneath their cockpits. With these adjustments, they perform better than their now-obsolete forbearers _, but they_ _are still Glasgows._ We did _nothing_ to their servomotors or even their armor."

"You…!" Osakabe was clenching his teeth.

"As a result, they still share the same weaknesses of the Glasgows. Their servomotors are weak. Some of their parts – particularly joints - are exposed. Their armor can't handle as many shots as a Sutherland either. And to top it off, they are more prone to slash-harken malfunction. All of this makes them _inferior_ to the even the weakest of Britannia's current offerings; the Sutherland. All facts I reminded you all of back when we first started building them. I even suggested that we focus on capturing a Sutherland to base our machines off of instead. Even one in ill-repair would have been sufficient. I was of course, overruled. You preferred the quick solution rather than the right one." Munakata and Kubouin looked suitably embarrassed, but Osakabe looked like he was about to blow a gasket, "Knowing all of this, it is hardly surprising that Zero-sama would give our Burai all the respect they deserve when reports state that he has been using Sutherlands in his operations."

"You think he found a way to supply himself with Britannia's weaponry?" Munakata raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed." Kaguya smiled at one of them becoming visibly interested, "I'd like to remind you that the two constants we have been seeing in the reports have been the red and black Gloucesters."

Munakata chuckled deeply, a rumbling sound that reminded her of thunder occasionally, "Sutherlands I could see. Gloucesters are another story entirely. I do believe you may be onto something, Kaguya-hime."

Kubouin was looking like he tended to Kaguya's side as well, but he was still unsure, "That is indeed true. Not even those blasted Purebloods were equipped with Gloucesters."

"And what of the Guren!" Osakabe blustered, "Are you saying that our Guren is lackluster too?"

"And that is why Zero is the General getting results and not you." Kaguya said primly, smiling as the man almost stood before Munakata jerked him back down, "The Guren hasn't been seen because that's the smart thing to do. Why in the world would he want his best machine seen before it has a chance to prove itself against Britannia? He is most likely training his forces right now. I certainly wouldn't waste the Guren on a _Refrain bust_."

"Enough." They all stiffened as the last man in the room finally spoke. Old, bald and weathered, Taizō Kirihara still cut an imposing figure. When he spoke, they all listened, "You have made your points and I am more inclined to agree with Kaguya-hime than you, Osakabe-dono." The two smiled and bit back a growl respectively, "However, I am not set on this Zero quite yet. Osakabe-done has a point when he says Zero has not proven himself against Britannia. Should he have another success, then we shall invite him here."

"You intend to see his face?" Osakabe smirked viciously.

"Indeed. I shall see for myself this whelp's worth." Kirihara said with finality.

Kaguya had to hold back from rolling her eyes. Why couldn't these old fogies just accept her woman's intuition? "Very well." She agreed demurely, "Then I shall join you when that day comes, Kirihara-dono."

 **-]|[-**

It was currently the dead of night, and the light of the moon shone brightly through the currently-opened stadium roof. The five main collaborators of the Black Knights were relaxing in a secluded area of the school; the pool, which was usually locked up at night. Lelouch, Kallen and Milly were all in casual swimwear and laying together on a large inflatable mattress in the middle of the pool. All of them were glistening from a previous swim. Nina was on her own float enjoying a cool lemonade, while C.C. was up on the tallest diving board, enjoying the night air. Then, she looked down to make sure the mattress wasn't in her path, and pulled off a flawless reverse somersault in the pike position. Shirley would have been jealous of it, if she were around. "You going for the gold, C.C.?" Lelouch sounded amused.

"I think she'd actually get it with that one." Kallen snickered.

"Ten out of ten!" Milly yelled cheerfully, "And I'm not talking about the dive either." She leered at C.C., much to Kallen's exasperation.

"Do you come with an off switch?" The redhead asked fondly.

"Right next to the _spot_." She said cheerfully and held back a giggle as Kallen flushed slightly, "Or is that the _on_ switch?" She leered at the redhead.

C.C. chuckled as she lay on her back and floated in the pool. "As fun as this is, we have things to discuss, no?" She laughed, "We've gotten hundreds of applicants recently."

"Surprising really." Milly commented, "The Japanese generally haven't been too eager to actually join resistance groups in the past. Yeah, they've always provided support, but most of them stay at home."

" _While I hate Britannia, I can't condone terrorism._ " Kallen paraphrased with a small smile, "But we're not terrorists. We're Knights of Justice." She kissed Lelouch's neck, "Isn't that right?"

"Of course." He smiled back as a small shudder raced down his spine. He and Milly were beyond ecstatic that Kallen was finally comfortable enough to start initiating some affection gestures on her own. "Anyway, what are we going to do about that one Britannian guy?"

"He's looks too proud to be a spy." Milly commented lazily.

"Ah, I looked him up with my Geass." Nina piped up finally from her float, "I've been getting pretty good with it! He was the one in charge of Suzaku's Court Martial parade and he personally filmed some of Zero's parts. He also got demoted recently for refusing to shut you down during Lake Kawaguchi."

"Hoh, looks like you have a fan Lelouch. Should Milly and I be worried?" Kallen teased.

He snorted, "He seems like an opportunistic little journalist, doesn't he?" He lightly pinched Kallen's backside, drawing a yelp from the girl for her comment, "I also looked him up. He's had no tragedies in his life, nor has he lost anyone to Britannia. He has no personal ties to this… which leads me to the conclusion that he's perfectly willing to commit treason just to get a scoop." He snorted derisively, "Typical vulture."

"Bleh." Milly wrinkled her nose, "Which means we'll constantly have to be worried that he'll find a bigger scoop than us."

Kallen scowled, "I want to defeat Britannia as much as the next girl but I feel wary about accepting scum like him."

"He's scum, but he can serve his purpose." Lelouch said, "I hesitate to put him in a position of power, so he will not be allowed command over anyone else. But he will be a good information officer if nothing else. Besides, his is a knife we'll know is coming if he ever does discover something huge to attract his attention."

"Agreed." C.C. said, "Though if he tries anything, I might have to break him."

"Be my guest." He smirked maliciously, "On to other applicants…"

 **-]|[-**

"Oii! Kallen, why aren't you getting in on this?" Tamaki yelled as his seat rolled backwards from the monitor bank. Those Burai units had been a big help, in that they provided plenty of cockpits for them to turn into Knightmare simulators. While they were in the process of designing and building actual Knightmares rather than knockoff Glasgows, their growing army was getting plenty of training. The ones who did the best in the simulators were allowed to pilot the Sutherlands they had during missions. Despite the fact that they were almost ready to unveil the new field units, these simulators would still be very useful. Tamaki had claimed one simulator for himself and practically planted his flag down. He was waving to Kallen from it. "If you get all uppity and don't practice I'll get better than you!"

Kallen bit back a snort, "Maybe if you actually completed a run without losing an arm I'd start to get a little worried. Maybe." She smirked and teased her fellow redhead, "In a million years or so."

"Oii!" Tamaki predictably blew a fuse, "What's that supposed to mean!"

"It means you suck." She deadpanned, and everyone chuckled at his furious face. "Besides, I've been one of the primary pilots helping Zero design our new Knightmares. I get practice almost daily." Everyone froze and looked at her in shock. They had made the decision to start easing her former cell into the fact that she was a leader amongst the Black Knights. It would help if anyone caught her acting a bit too familiar with their leader.

"Kallen!" Oghi looked surprised, "When have you had the time to do that?"

"Why do you think I've been so tired for most of the time." She said grouchily, "Luckily, that's mostly in the past. We finished getting all the data that they needed and the Knightmares are already in their first production phase."

"No, that's not…" Oghi stalled, "I meant why only you? I know you're the best amongst us but still… We all could have helped. And where in the world have you been doing this?"

"It hasn't been only me." She told them, "Zero has been participating as well. Another member you've yet to meet has been helping us too." She detected a small amount of jealousy start to form in some of the members. "The reason you all haven't been requested is that the facility is secret." She told them, which was the truth, "The fewer people who know where it is the better. We can't risk it being discovered, or we'd be in hot water. I can move a bit more freely than you all after all."

"Ah, that's understandable then." Oghi said, losing his slight apprehension and smiling, "You sure are doing well, huh Kallen? Can you give us any hints?"

She smirked, "Of course."

"No need!" They all jumped as Zero's powerful voice echoed in the room, "I can inform you myself."

"Sir!" Oghi looked a little embarrassed, "Sorry about this. We were all just a little surprised that Kallen kept it secret." He stopped and stalled for a moment, "Also, I'm not exactly complaining… these simulators have been an amazing help but… why did we just ignore these Burai that Kyoto sent us?"

"No need for apologies." Zero said easily. Then he snorted, "And the answer to that question is simplicity itself. Those Burai units were garbage. I wouldn't hesitate to call them wastes of space."

Kallen picked up, "They were all basically just Glasgows. You remember how easily even I was put in a corner by Sutherlands when I was in mine. They wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance against Cornelia's Gloucesters, even with their reinforced hands."

"Precisely." Zero said, "I never had any intention of accepting such lackluster offerings. There's a reason Britannia phased them out of the military."

"I see." Oghi smiled, "Does that mean that our new units were already in production before you met us?"

"No, they were being planned out." Kallen corrected him, "Zero lacked actual battle data so his machines were only slightly better than the Burai. He also had a few prototypes that never made it anywhere. It was only after we started dueling each other and collecting proper data – on top of stealing Sutherlands and Gloucesters from Britannia – that he was able to really refine his designs."

"That's right. And now, we're almost ready to unveil them." He smirked as he saw them staring in rapt attention, "The units are all 5th gen to 6th gen. We were working closely to try to match the capabilities of the Britannian Gloucester for our regular field units. Unfortunately, the technology in them is mostly the same as is found in those units. We have several experimental weapons we're testing on Kallen personal unit as well as my own, but they're too expensive to field test on mass production units." They couldn't see his face, but they figured he was smirking, "Those of you who perform with distinction in our coming operations will have the chance to use other pre-production units."

Kallen smirked as she saw the fire light up under their asses, "So I would get back to practicing if I were you!" She barked, and they all saluted.

"Yes ma'am!"

 **-]|[-**

"She's moving on the JLF already?" Kallen asked incredulously. She was currently sitting on a couch with Lelouch, Milly, C.C. and Nina. The petite girl was currently awake, though moments before she had been passed out from using her Geass. She had gotten used to using every opportunity she could to practice, and her power was proving incredibly useful. Thus far, she had learned that she was able to hack into enemy computers without a care for any resistance posed by anti-viral software. Any that even had the potential to threaten her were examined and defeated on the fly. She had just gotten back from infiltrating the Viceroy's palace to ensure Euphie had privacy when she called Lelouch.

The pink-haired Princess herself was the picture of calmness on the video, "That's right. She wants to cripple the biggest group of resistance in the hopes that the smaller groups might disband."

"The JLF is ultimately unimportant." Lelouch said carelessly, "General Katase was a fine leader back when Japan still had its independence and managed to keep the group afloat for the past seven years. Nevertheless, he's a relic far past his time. The JLF haven't done a single meaningful thing in years. Even Tōdō has failed to produce a miracle since Itsukushima."

"I know that." Kallen sighed, "Hell, even their propaganda broadcasts just get jammed. Usually as soon as they're put up even." She ran a hand through her hair, "But this will cripple the morale of the Japanese. Even if they're useless, they're still the biggest resistance in the country. If they're taken out…"

Milly smirked, "Then we must give the people a new hope. Isn't that right, Lulu?"

He snorted, "Yes, I do feel up for a hike this weekend. The mountains should be quite beautiful."

 **-]|[-**

"How are you doing Princess?" Lelouch placed a small kiss on his sister's forehead.

"I'm a lot better now, big brother." Nunnally smiled brightly up at him, "I was so worried about you a few weeks ago."

"Sorry for worrying you, Nunna." He chuckled lightly, "Isn't that just my luck though? I decide to go have some fun with Milly and get captured by terrorists."

"It's not funny!" She pouted cutely, "You can't keep worrying me like that big brother! I don't know what I would do without you…"

"Same here…" He kissed her forehead again. He hesitated, "What did you think of the Black Knights?"

Nunnally bit her lip, "I… I'm not sure." She admitted, "I hate fighting. You know I do. They killed all of those Japanese soldiers but…" She looked down, a light tear starting to build in her left eye, "But if it hadn't been for them… I might have lost you…" She let the tear stream down, "But I'm worried. What will happen if they start fighting for real?"

"Zero doesn't seem the type to involve innocent people." Lelouch said gently as he wiped away the tear, "He made sure I was protected when I asked for it. I couldn't be seen on cameras after all. He didn't question me, even when he had every right to."

"Thank goodness." She sniffled.

"Anyway, I'll be leaving tomorrow night on a trip. We'll be gone for three days." He mussed up her hair, making her puff up angrily. He grinned, "Think you can be a good girl for Sayoko, Nunna?"

"Where will you be going, big brother?" She asked curiously after she gently pawed his hand away.

"We're going to go up to the mountains for some hiking." He said, ' _Among other things._ ' It was a lucky thing his sister couldn't see, because she would definitely be unnerved by the smile on his face, "We'll be back on Monday."

"Okay!" She said, "Have fun big brother!" She held her arms up to him and he picked her up gently, "Be safe!" She scolded, "No getting kidnapped this time!" She squeezed him tightly in a loving hug.

He laughed as he tucked her into her bed, "Don't worry Nunna. We'll be just fine."

 **-]|[-**

"Lelouch, we have a problem." Nina stated seriously. Lelouch looked up from his impromptu make-out session with Milly and sat properly on the couch. With Nina being that serious, they would give her their full attention.

"What is it Nina?" Kallen got up and took a seat between Milly's legs, allowing her to rest her feet on his thighs, "Is something the wrong?"

"Yes." Nina sighed and took out her laptop, plugging in a flash drive, "After you told us about the plan for your _hiking trip_ , I decided to create a simulator to test everything out." She looked a little unnerved, "With it, I was able to simulate some famous landslides from the past and I managed to match their destruction with 95% accuracy." She sighed heavily, "When I ran it to test out your plan…" She trailed off, and clicked the run button.

The simulation shown was done in a polygonal mesh. The entirety of the Narita Mountains were shown, and underneath the shadow of the mountain were the obvious structures of the town that sat there. Euphemia had told them which direction they intended to attack from as well as the general search plans. They watched as the summit of the mountain practically exploded, and the ensuing rockslide. Only it didn't stop after smashing through the areas where the enemy units were supposed to be. Oh no, the rockslide barreled straight into the closest buildings in the small settlement and continued smashing straight through them. Dozens of buildings were completely demolished by the gigantic flow. By the time the rockslide stopped, almost nothing remained standing.

"Oh no!" Kallen looked distraught, her hand covering her mouth.

"Damn it!" Lelouch had his head inclined downwards and his right hand was clutching at his hair.

"Hundreds of people staying peacefully in that settlement would die…" Milly was mirroring Lelouch, with her right hand in her hair with the palm over her right eye.

Nina nodded solemnly, "This was with full power on the Radiant Wave Surger." She reset the simulation and changed some of the parameters, "I then ran it about a dozen more times to be sure, as well as to see what it would take to keep the destruction to a minimum; at most the first wave of buildings get some rock in their lobbies." She turned it around and ran it again. This time, the wave was both slower and less powerful. Where the previous simulation had shown a titanic wave, this one was a lumbering beast, crushing all that happened to be in its path. Slowly. Too slowly. It lost all of its energy a few feet short of smashing into the first buildings. "That was at forty-seven percent."

"Would it even be powerful enough or fast enough to catch her forces in it?" Kallen asked in frustration, clenching her fists.

"No it wouldn't be." Lelouch growled, sitting back and frowning, "At the very least, the Gloucesters would be able to get away from it. Some of the Sutherlands might even be able to use their Slash Harkens to get out of the flow."

"But we can't just use full power!" Nina said, verging on shrilly, "All of those people! That's not what a Knight of Justice would do!"

"Become murders or die ourselves…" Kallen said hoarsely as Lelouch took his phone out of his pocket and connected the jammer so he could talk with Euphie, "What the hell kind of choice is this…?"

 **-]|[-**

"Sister… we need to change the plan." Euphie sounded more serious than she usually ever did. She especially never used that commanding tone with _her_ , which was what actually caught Cornelia's attention.

She raised her eyebrow, "Whatever for?"

"When you told me about the battle against the Blood of the Samurai, you mentioned that they had transformed their mountain into a firebase, correct?" Cornelia nodded indulgently, "That mountain was practically an anthill compared to the Narita Mountains." Euphie said seriously, "Plus the Japan Liberation Front is the most well-funded group in all of Japan. That entire mountain could be crawling with artillery."

Cornelia smiled in fond amusement, "Yes, we had already considered that Euphie." She didn't quite sound condescending – this was Euphie after all – but it was clear she wasn't taking her sister seriously, "This isn't my first rodeo little sister. Artillery are relics of a bygone age. They're almost useless against Knightmares as obsolete as Glasgows, much less our Sutherlands and Gloucesters."

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm fully aware of how inferior they are as weapons." Euphie said quietly, "I'm worried about the town… What if they get so desperate that they aim their howitzers at the settlement?" Cornelia's smirk dropped from her lips as she understood what her sister was so antsy about, "They could take the entire town hostage without even having to leave their base. Or worse!"

Cornelia pursed her lips, "If we evacuate it, the JLF will most definitely be alerted." She said, thinking out loud.

"I know… but even if they are, that'll only mean that they'll have a bit more time to deploy their countermeasures. We have the entire mountain surrounded with our main forces and our reserve forces beyond that." Euphie replied, "There's no way that they'll be able to get most of their equipment out anyway. They'd definitely have to leave most of their Knightmares behind. The only ones who could escape would be personnel, and they'll be scattered to the winds anyway."

"But they could delete their data." Cornelia said heavily, "Which is what we're truly after with this operation. We want their funders, lists of members and collaborators… _everything_. That's the only reason we're not just bombing the mountains out of existence."

"You really think they would just leave information like that lying around?" The pinkette asked dryly, "This isn't their first rodeo either sister. Even if they did, they could have a failsafe that destroys all of their computers anyway." Euphie clenched her fists, "I'm really not comfortable with just leaving things as is. If those people die…" She turned her head, not having to fake her distraught expression, "The regular soldiers!" She said suddenly, turning back to her sister.

"What about them?" The magenta-haired woman frowned in confusion.

"They'd be useless in a fight on the mountains, wouldn't they?" Euphemia asked, "Same for the APCs! We could send them to the settlement instead and evacuate the people with them! Our APCs and our trucks can carry over a dozen people each right? We have hundreds of them which would just be sitting about uselessly."

"You're really determined aren't you." Cornelia smiled fondly, and gently cupped her sister's cheek, "Alright Euphie. You win this one. I'll allow you to start the evacuation ten minutes before the operation starts. That's the most time I can give you."

Euphie gave her sister one of the tightest hugs they'd shared yet, "Thank you sister!" She said happily, ' _And thank you, Lelou._ ' She thought to herself. Without his suggestions on what arguments she could make and their order, this might have gone much worse.

"Anything for you…" Cornelia smiled affectionately, "Anything for you."

 **-]|[-**

"Sugoi!" Tamaki was almost in love. A sentiment shared by the vast majority of the men and women behind him. Their leader had summoned them to a warehouse pretty far out of the way. It had taken them more than half an hour to get there. Once they did, they entered a blackened room, and many had even started suspecting a trap. They had started taking out guns and cautiously walking into the building, their training from Zero over the past weeks taking them over. And then the floodlights kicked on to either end and illuminated one of the most wondrous sights they'd ever laid eyes on. A wall of machines in charging brackets to either side of them.

The machines stood 4.31 meters tall and looked to be a tiny bit bulkier than traditional Gloucesters. If Oghi had to put a word to their look, he would describe them as based on Samurai armor. The helm looked like a classic kabuto helmet and even had a crest that looked like a 'U' with flared, hook point tips. The facemask had four red, evil looking eyes and would split twice down the middle to reveal its Factsphere like traditional Frames. There were sode-like shoulder guards that looked segmented on both arms – shoulder to wrist – and the cockpit hump was framed by optional weapons modules on either side. The Frames were jet black with silver accents. On the front chest-plate was the symbol of the Black Knights; the same warped Geass symbol with the sword through it that Lelouch wore on his cape. Framed on either side were the standard Slash Harkens. On their hands seemed to be reinforced guards.

"These are amazing!" Oghi yelled among the rest of the Black Knights. He wasn't one to usually go starry-eyed, but this was a hell of a special occasion.

"Glad you like them." Kallen came out of the darkness with a smug grin on her beautiful face, "We worked so hard on them. It's nice to be appreciated." For some strange reason, her hair was a little messed up and she was a little flushed. Thankfully none of them noticed.

"What are they?!" Inoue asked in wonder.

"And how cool are they?!" Predictably came from Tamaki. They translated it to, 'how do they perform?'

Zero's echoing tones provided the answer as he stepped out from the darkness right next to Kallen. "They're our new mass-production models; the Onryō." He smirked, "They control pretty similarly to Sutherlands too, so you guys should be right at home. They surpass Sutherlands easily, and in our testing at home they've gone 45-55 against Gloucesters."

Kallen put her hands behind her head and smiled at all of the original crew members. The newbies were all still drooling over the frames. "They're not quite in their final forms yet though. We weren't able to finish their main weapons quite yet, but they work quite well." Well, more like they hadn't had time to _mass-produce_ their main weapons. Britannia would regret sleeping on Lloyd's MVS once the Black Knights started equipping them. As it was, Kallen already had the Guren's knife upgraded.

"What about your frames?" Inoue asked with a smile, still marveling at their new Knightmares, "You haven't so much as allowed us to take a peek at them! We don't even know what the Guren looks like and we've had it for weeks!"

Kallen grinned and clicked her fingers. Two more spotlights turned on, revealing two Knightmares at the head of the room. Kallen's Knightmare was immediately apparent. It was a much _nastier_ looking frame, emblazed in Kallen's signature crimson. The right arm looked absolutely vicious. It was longer than the other arm for one, and was left bare, rather than covered in crimson armor. Its clawed hand looked like it could simply crush a Knightmare's head or even punch straight through armor on its own. The cockpit was framed in orange and the helmet had a silver faceplate. It looked vaguely gladiatorial, with a huge spike coming out of its head. Its midsection was very thin and had black ribs. This was the Guren Mark III.

On the left was Zero's personal unit. It had a black and gold theme and was a slightly taller than the other Knightmares in the hangar. Its forearms were slightly bulkier and it seemed to look more like the Lancelot than the other frames in the room, though its helm was samurai-like, the same as the Onryō. Regal would be an apt description. On each hip were two black weapons they had never seen before with golden barrels. They were obviously guns of some sort since they had a hand grip and a trigger, but curiously they seemed pretty solidly attached to the frame. He had decided to call it the Raijin.

"They're so awesome!" Tamaki had both fists trembling in front of his chests. "When are we going to get to use them?"

"Within the next few days." They all froze at Zero's voice. "You all better get some sleep early tonight. We're going on a hiking trip."

 **-]|[-**

"Sector five. Nothing to report here." A JLF soldier said into his microphone. The two men in the small cabin had been enjoying a game of shogi, though sadly it had been interrupted by what they felt was a pointless gesture. "Next scheduled update will be in two hours." He turned around and went to rejoin the game.

His partner was smirking in relaxation, "Of course there's nothing to report." He snorted, "This area is completely under the Japan Liberation Front's control. No one can just waltz in and…" Outside Lelouch was snickering as he opened the door. They really should have known better than to tempt fate like that, "ZERO!"

"Relax." Zero said as his mask's eyepiece slid open, " **I want you to ignore any unusual activity during your watch. Enjoy your game.** "

"Sure, no problem." He put his gun down gently on the table.

The other man picked his chair up, "Come on man, it's your turn."

"What's the rush? We're just on regular duty, you know." He moved one of his black pieces.

…

Down in the lower reaches of the mountain, Oghi's Onryō flipped its Factsphere sensor shut. "There's the signal! Let's move people!" The entire procession started going uphill, with Kallen's Guren taking up the rear.

Tamaki hadn't stopped salivating over his machine yet, but he had the mental faculty to ask, "Hey, why doesn't Zero just use the radio in his Raijin?"

"And what do you suppose he meant when he said hiking?" Inoue was wondering that herself.

"Obviously we're treating this as a real military operation." Minami responded casually.

"Why's only Zero in another location then?" Tamaki shot at him.

"Maybe we'll dig a hot spring…" Sugiyama chuckled to himself. He was referring to the excavators they had been told to bring with them. They couldn't fathom why Zero would need those things.

' _Not quite._ ' Kallen thought to herself dryly. When Tamaki shot his mouth off once again, asking her if she knew anything, she responded, "Of course I know what we're doing." She put on a haughty smirk just for the other redhead. "You'll just have to wait to find out." Predictably, the man blew up and had to be silenced and almost hogtied by his friends. Her smirk became a little bloodthirsty. She was _quite_ eager for today. She hoped to get a shot at Cornelia herself, though she knew Zero wanted to face her. She'd probably have to settle for Cornelia's knights.

…

"C.C." Lelouch said in exasperation as he left the cabin, "How'd you get up here on foot so quickly? And what _are_ you doing here?"

"I have to protect my precious contractors, don't I?" She smiled as she did a little twirl.

"If you wanted a Knightmare we would have made you one." He deadpanned, "Besides, you should be more worried about yourself. Milly's going to kill you if she sees you in that thing. Didn't we burn it?" Why the witch wanted to wear that prisoner's outfit was beyond him.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." She smirked, "And besides, I need a _custom_ outfit, befitting my grace." She said haughtily.

"Try saying that when not wearing a prisoner's outfit." He answered back dryly.

She turned back around and stared at the descending slopes, "Hey Lelouch… there's something I've been wondering about." She said as he approached her silently, "Why are you Lelouch?"

"Philosophy?" He raised an eyebrow, "Quite out of left field, don't you think?"

"You changed your family name to Lamperouge, but you kept Lelouch. The name that was given to you at birth. Can't let go of the past?"

He chuckled, "I quite like my name. I think it fittingly regal. I could do without other people turning it into Lulu though." She smiled lightly, "And isn't C.C. going too far the other way?"

Her smile dimmed, "Lelouch, do you know why snow is white? Snow is white because it's forgotten what color it's supposed to be."

Lelouch looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, before he surprised her by coming behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. She let out a little gasp of shock and felt her cheeks warm as he pulled her close, "I don't know why snow is white…" he smiled softly, "Yet it is still quite beautiful, no?"

 **-]|[-**

" We're certain that the Japan Liberation Front headquarters are in this area." Darlton's deep voice rang through the nearly-silent G1 planning room, "We've already split four battalions into seven units and hidden them in the vicinity. We've only to wait for the viceroy signal then we'll surround them in one fell swoop and wipe them out."

"Have we already begun the evacuation?" That was what Euphie was most concerned about. She dreaded the thought of Lelouch's plan coming to fruition without the town being cleared. The pinkette was wearing a tight, form-fitting white dress with flared sleeves and an off-pink and gold corset.

"We have not, Princess Euphemia." Guilford bowed with his hand over his heart, "The troops are on standby and the evacuation vehicles are standing by. They're ready to race towards their destination at our command."

"Thank you Sir Guilford." Euphie sighed in light relief before turning to Darlton, "And are we confident that the enemy won't show up outside the encirclement line?"

"You mean Zero, don't you?" Cornelia spoke up for the first time, "It would be a poor move for him to show up." She smirked lightly, "They won't be any better equipped than these fools from the JLF. Zero doesn't strike me as the type to run a suicide mission."

' _Oh sister, if only you knew…_ ' Euphie was very careful to keep her face blank, ' _You are not going to have a good day today. Hopefully you take something out of this. You can't be this arrogant against Lelouch._ '

"Regardless of if he wants to show his mask or not, we will be blocking off the surrounding highways and mountain routes once the operation begins." Darlton told the pink-haired Princess.

"Plus, we have reserve units. If Zero is stupid enough to show up, it'll be the end of him." Cornelia smiled lightly, "However, one part of our reserve forces included Camelot." The others started in surprise, turning to stare at the Viceroy, "It is Britannia's policy to discriminate against the numbers. However, I am grudgingly forced to admit that that Eleven pilot has impressed me." Euphemia was blinking in shock at her sister, while Darlton had to hide a small grin, "Therefore, I will leave Camelot's involvement in this operation up to you, Euphemia. I see no need to launch them, but if you believe the situation has changed, by all means."

"Yes Viceroy." Euphie smiled happily. This was progress with her sister that she hadn't expected at all.

…

" All units are in position." The voice of one of her men sounded in her radio before it crackled off. Cornelia smirked, eager to get the festivities started. She was sitting in the cockpit of her custom Gloucester. It was a brighter, more vibrant purple with golden ornamentation on its armor. It had a white cape and it had larger horn-like protrusions on its head that acted as an antenna array. It was also far more high-spec than a regular Gloucester. A fitting unit for an imperial Princess.

"Understood." She replied, "Euphemia will provide logistical support From G1 as planned.  
Have her command the medical group. I trust that she has already gotten the evacuation under way?"

"Yes, your Highness!"

"That girl." Cornelia smiled in fond exasperation, "I tell her ten minutes and she goes and takes twenty. What am I going to do with her?"

"She should be in the palace." She heard her Knight Guilford grumble.

She started to chuckle, "She's being extremely stubborn about this. She told me she wanted to see actual combat for herself. I never did allow her to actually put any of the piloting I taught her to the test after all." She shrugged, not that anyone could see her "I'm not too worried in any case. She knows more than enough to be able to at least escape should things go sour."

 **-]|[-**

"Zero, what exactly is the point of all this?" Oghi sounded quite bewildered. Why had they just started digging into the mountain with these excavators? What purpose did this whole thing serve? Several of them were spewing a very smelly mud from some escape nozzles.

"They are quite essential to today's festivities." Zero replied.

Oghi felt a light shiver run down his spine. He wasn't entirely sure he could claim it was the cold, "Festivities?"

"Today, we fight Cornelia." Zero replied, a smirk on his face.

He said this quietly, so only Oghi heard him. The rest continued on with their work, heedless of the danger they were about to find themselves in. "But Zero!" Oghi gasped in a light amount of fear, "We've only faced Knightpolice up until now. Several of our men are still green!" He slid his front teeth side to side in his mouth, "Will we not be working with the Japan Liberation Front?"

"It is quite late to start doubting me, Kaname Oghi." Zero replied without concern, "Have I not delivered the impossible before?"

"I…" Oghi sighed, "Yes Zero, you have. And I was the one who asked you to be our leader." He bowed lightly, "Forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive." Lelouch smiled, "For today we will taste victory against the best Britannia has to offer."

 **-]|[-**

Truth be told, Cornelia had not been planning to annihilate the JLF so soon. They were a known quantity, and it amused her that even their propaganda broadcasts were shut down. These broadcasts worked against them, serving to lower morale. She knew for a fact that they had started losing members, though she had no numbers. Over the years, their operations had only gotten smaller and smaller. Frankly, they had turned into a larger, slightly more successful version of the Blood of the Samurai. All in all, they were merely nuisances who didn't know when to give up.

That had all changed weeks ago when Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe had seized the Lake Kawaguchi hotel and not only taken hundreds of her citizens hostage, but had _put her sister in mortal peril._ And it _burned_ her to admit that Zero's presence might have been the only thing that kept her sister alive.

Beyond all else, that was unforgiveable. At that point, they had stopped being nuisances and were upgraded to threats. Threats served only to be destroyed. She heard Darlton's voice crackle in her radio, "Princess, it's time."

"Excellent." A bloodthirsty smirk grew on her gorgeous face, "Commence the operation!" Immediately, the electromagnetic rails that her Gloucester's Landspinners were held in propelled her forward, shooting her Gloucester like a cannonball from the G1. "The Japan Liberation Front…" Several Sutherlands shot out of trains that were in the area, "You all forgot basic human kindness and dignity…" Planes carrying more Knightmares sped through the sky, dropping their cargo in on parachutes, "You and your misbegotten dreams of a great nation shall fall… and rot to nothingness."

 **-]|[-**

"What!" General Katase gasped as he raced to the briefing room, "We're under attack?!" He stared in resigned fear and rage at the red radar-like screen that filled up the room. It showed hundreds of enemy units.

"Yes sir." The JLF information master sounded quite shaken, "The entire mountain has been surrounded sir… They have over a hundred units and that number is only rising…"

Another man shouted in panic, "There's no way out! Even our underground reserve forces have been captured! How the hell did they do this without us knowing?! Our scouts had to have seen something!"

"General! We've received a single message from Cornelia! They're asking for our immediate surrender…"

"Imbecile!" Katase snarled, "If we die here the whole resistance is lost!"

They turned to their leader, "Then do we dig in or fight?"

Katase ignored them, "What about Tōdō? Where is he?!"

Not a small number of his soldiers bowed their heads in despair. Even now, all their general cared about was Tōdō's miracle. They had grown far too reliant on that man. Only one answered, "He should be on his way back from Kyoto with the Four Holy Swords, but there's no way they'll get here in time. Not without knowing we're under attack, and enemy ECM means we can't send a message."

One man snarled under his breath, "And he's only one man anyway…"

Katase didn't hear him, to the man's fortune. The general clenched his fists, "Send out the Burai! We have to break through one side of the encirclement and escape! We'll show them our Japanese spirit and pride. This is our moment of truth!"

 **-]|[-**

The fledgling Black Knights were (mostly) watching in horror as the mountains were swarmed by Britannian personnel. There had to be dozens – if not hundreds – of Knightmares crawling about the lower reaches of the mountains. "And so it begins."

Tamaki was shaking in horror, "What the hell, Zero!" He gasped and whirled around furiously, "What the hell is this?! Did you know about this?! We're completely surrounded! There's no way out!"

"Correct." Lelouch smirked beneath his mask, "Which means the only way out is to fight."

Inoue was shaking, "This is crazy! We can't fight hundreds of them like this!"

Sugiyama turned around and showed his pale, sweating face, "And this is Cornelia! Her forces are far stronger than any we've encountered before!"

Zero tutted in disappointment and turned his mask towards Tamaki, who immediately started feeling more than a little uncomfortable. "Is this all it takes to shake your determination, Shinichiro Tamaki?" He turned his head to every single one of them, his mask catching each of their eyes, "Is this all it takes to frighten you, my Black Knights?!" Several of his men and women flinched, "Did you expect to gain back your pride and your names with such flimsy resolve?!" He roared, his voice echoing around them in the air.

Kallen stepped forward, "Have you forgotten what one good Knightmare did to us in Shinjuku?" Her voice cracked like a whip. Several of the original members started to murmur to themselves, "Have we not armed ourselves to the teeth with the finest weaponry we were able to create?! Knightmares that outstrip every Britannian Sutherland? Don't forget, we have TWO Seventh Generation Knightmares behind us!" She smirked proudly, "And more importantly, WE HAVE ZERO!"

Oghi took a step back in shock, staring at his best friend's little sister in awe. She had practically taken command and he could see that several of them had loosened their shoulders slightly. When… when had Kallen…?

Lelouch was smirking behind his mask, before Tamaki regained some of his bravado, "Oi, oi! This isn't going to be walk in the park! The price here is our lives! You could have at least told us! We're going to need a miracle!"

Lelouch stepped forward, "Yes… we will." The effect of Kallen's speech – which had served to lessen some nerves – were now lost again, "Even Messiahs need to perform miracles if they're to be acknowledged! Which means we need to perform a miracle of our own, don't we?"

Tamaki spat to the side and sneered at him, "Yer talking like miracles are cheap! I knew it was nuts to make you our leader! It should have been me!" He started removing his gun, but Zero beat him to the punch, removing a weapon from his suit and aiming it at his forehead

Zero chuckled darkly, "Then by all means…" He spun it on his finger, catching it by the barrel and offered it to Tamaki, "If you feel you can win without me… shoot me." Tamaki grimaced and took a step back. Oghi stared at their leader in shock, his breath coming in short little gasps. He just couldn't believe the sheer audacity of this man. Zero's confidence was plain to see, and it started infecting several of their members. Their eyes and stances hardened as they found their hearts once more, "Nobody?" He looked from side to side, "Anyone at all?"

Tamaki turned his head to the side, "Alright, alright already! Do whatever you want."

Sugiyama had wiped his brow and his heartbeat had slowed, "We chose you as our leader Zero. We will follow that through!"

"My thanks."

Kallen smiled in excitement, "We're all Black Knights now!" She yelled, "Either we live together… or we perish as one!"

 **-]|[-**

Euphemia stood next to three decently-ranked individuals inside the G1 as it travelled. One of them had a long, thin rod in his hand that he was using as a pointer, "We believe the main enemy base is inside one of these mountains. Unfortunately, we don't have a precise location yet. We would like to just start dropping bombs, but we believe they have vital information on their collaborators."

Euphemia frowned, "There's no need to burn down a perfectly good mountain." She pointed to the tallest of the peaks, "Logic states that an operation as large as the JLF once was and still is needs a lot of space. Furthermore, it'll need a lot of hidden lifts for their Knightmares and their artillery. Therefore, it is likely that this mountain is the site of their main base." The three men stared at her in surprise, "Regardless of if I'm right, I do wonder how in the world they managed to do this. They had to have been under watch after the war ended. How did they manage to construct what must be a massive compound and series of tunnels right underneath our noses? Were the leaders before Clovis just as incompetent as he was?"

One of the men burned in embarrassment, having been one of the few to escape the li Britannia sister's purges of the former government, "We don't know your Highness. Several of us suspected bribery."

"Even worse then." She eyed the map, "Oh, it appears I may have been right." She clapped her hands together with a smile. The map had changed, and several red dots had appeared, "It appears they're going to try to break through the encirclement, as expected."

"Indeed." The commander was grudgingly impressed. They had not expected Euphemia to be anywhere near as observant or as intelligent as she had shown, "Our forces are divided into three fronts. The units let by General Darlton here, General Alex here, and Viceroy Cornelia here.  
As for our flanking forces... what?" He blustered as the map started crackling and fizzling.

"ECM." Euphemia frowned, "Deploy ECCM."

…

A few minutes before, Darlton had been leading his charge up the mountain, " The enemy's main force should be coming out anytime now." He told his men. His Gloucester was a darker purple than the two following closely behind him, and unlike Cornelia and Guilford he did not equip a cape, "We're switching to ECCM mode. Link up on channel alpha-four!" He then let out a rumbling chuckle, "The enemy units… what are they called again?"

"I believe they're called Burai, father." His wingman and adopted son Alfred G. Darlton told him.

He smirked in amusement, "Right, those Glasgow knockoffs." Several of his men had to suppress snickers, "Do watch out for them. I would be fairly disappointed if any of our men were forced to eject."

"Yes, My Lord!" They yelled as suddenly, the trees in front of them slid to the sides as though they were on rails. And clearly they were, because an elevator brought three Burai up to meet them.

Before he could say another word, two of his sons raced past his Gloucester. The lead Knightmare jumped over a wave of gunfire and fired two Slash Harkens. The Burai had all turned their guns up to him and two had their arms cut clean off. Underneath the frame, his brother Bart L. Darlton rolled his eyes, "Did they seriously take their eyes off the main forces?" He chucked his lance forward, impaling the last Burai and knocking it into the air. Sparks were flying from the gashes in its armor and Bart screeched by, grabbing the lance before the Knightmare even had a chance to land from the impact and wrenched it to the side. The Knightmare got torn in half and the pieces finally crashed into the earth, exploding behind him. Bart didn't even glance back as Edgar N. Darlton landed like a comet into the chest of one of the standing Knightmares. His Gloucester's feet crashed into the Burai's cockpit and crushed it under heel. His gun fired five shots into the last Burai, shredding it.

General Darlton shook his head in amusements, "Cheeky kids. Always in such a hurry." He muttered fondly.

…

The same sight met Cornelia and Guilford on another part of the mountain, "Hoh, so they turned the whole mountain into a fortress. How surprising." Cornelia said in droll amusement, not surprised in the slightest.

She and her knight continued charging forward, though her personal knight had stepped on the gas and had started to overtake her, "Your Highness, please fall back."

She barely held back an eye roll. Barely, "Guilford, don't take me for another one of your women." She suddenly surged right past her knight at blinding speed. The Burai all started firing at her, and she weaved around the bullets as easily as if she could see them coming in slow motion. "Insolent worms!" She roared as – with a single swing of her jousting lance – she knocked all three enemy machines backwards and one into the air. She landed and immediately went after the airborne unit, impaling it through the cockpit. Crackles of electricity surrounded the hole, before the entire machine exploded and rained broken bits all around her. She somersaulted out of the ash cloud and her Slash Harken fired forward, instantly destroying a turret.

"Well then." Guilford said blandly, "We'll just cover your rear, shall we."

She huffed in amusement, " **Well? Cornelia is here!** " She declared with. It was a silly boast, but it was one that struck fear in the hearts of those who knew that _yes, she was that damn good._ " **Is there no one else who can challenge me?! Is there NO ONE ELSE?!** " Her voice echoed through the mountains, even causing one soldier to decide that discretion was the better part of valor. The man left his post and went to go hide in a nearby cave, hoping that they would miss him entirely.

 **-]|[-**

Over in the town, the evacuation had already been well underway for almost half an hour at this point. Hundreds if not thousands of people had already been evacuated – some even at _gunpoint_ if they had refused to leave their homes peacefully. Euphemia had been _very_ adamant that they get every soul they could get out of that town.

Which was why one man wearing a trench coat over his business attire was having to be very stealthy as he went through the city. Inside his destination, one man was sweating heavily, "Why did they choose _this_ place?!"

"If the military should find the experimental data on Code R, it's all over!" Another bemoaned.

They were all standing around yet another of the containers meant to trap C.C., "Damn it all. Setting up in terrorist-controlled territory was supposed to make it easier to hide…"

"It's all general Bartley's fault. He picked this location, so there's no use complaining about it."

 **-]|[-**

"Guilford…" Cornelia was speaking in a sad tone, "When did even battle become boring?" Her monitor flashed as yet another Knightmare exploded in her face, impaled on her lance. Her Knightmare was basically vaulting over the dead machine, "We used to at least have a challenge." She lamented, "These damn things are way too fragile."

…

Darlton had lost his smile and was completely focused on the mission now, "These things seem unusually concentrated here. I do believe we may have discovered their base. Split up now!" The three leading Gloucesters all split to separate locations and hid behind rocks. A mere second later, a massive explosion erupted where they had been driving. They popped back out and fired their rocket launchers.

…

Underground, the JLF were nearing panic "It's no good!" A soldier yelled as they watched as dozens of their friendly dots vanished on the map, only to be replaced with kanji reading LOST, "Our second wave was as ineffective as the first! We got maybe three of the enemy Gloucesters!"

"Their sheer dominance…" Katase's fists were clenched at his side, "They're incredible."

…

The voice of yet another of his adopted sons - David T. Darlton - was coming in through the radio, "Father; I've analyzed the enemy movements and deployment patterns. I've determined that the entrance to the JLF main base may be located near that lodge up on the mountain."

Darlton grinned widely, "I do believe the word here is 'Bingo!'"

"Well…" His son stalled in bemusement, "That's not actually…"

"Just humor me here, mister literal." Darlton chuckled, his deep tone rumbling, "Call it in boys!"

…

"So, looks like we owe Darlton a pint." Cornelia let out a little laugh.

"He always wins." Guilford grumbled in his Gloucester, in a rare mood, "Looks like the main base is over there!"

"Indeed. We'll be securing our position right here." She declared, "Let no enemy pass!"

"You sure, your Highness?" he asked her.

She scoffed, "I'm not one to steal my subordinate's achievements." She smiled, honestly happy for the man, "Send the reserves in. Looks like Darlton will be getting yet another medal."

"Not like he doesn't have enough of the bloody things." Guilford let out a rare chuckle. "I swear, he's going to run out of room on his uniform."

"He already did!" Cornelia chuckled again as she casually backhanded a Burai that had tried to impale her with a silver lance. She was fairly sure it came from that depot that had gotten raided some months ago. She sneered at the enemy as she stapled it to the ground, "Last I checked he has them pre-clipped onto several uniforms and just picks one to wear."

 **-]|[-**

"Excellent deployment, sister." Lelouch was in his cockpit lounging, "You've gone for overwhelming force, and even without your Gloucesters you would have won. These Burai are just as bad as I had feared."

Kallen's disgusted voice came in through the only active radio channel right now, "They're _worse_." He chuckled lightly at her indignation. Frankly, she had a right to be angry. These machines were – frankly – jokes, and they were currently the best Japan apparently had to offer. Why in the world did they base them off of _Glasgows_? At the very least, they should have based them off of Sutherlands. Even if they were completely outmatched due to their enemy's mobility, occasionally an artillery piece or a tank could get a lucky shot on an unaware pilot. A weapon meant to take out a 60 ton behemoth could no doubt take out a Knightmare that didn't even hit 8 tons. They had to have been able to capture at least one since their launch, and if Kyoto House was who he suspected they were, then they _certainly_ had the capital. Frankly, these offerings were paltry at best and suspicious at worst. "An entire bloody _wave_ barely managed to take out three enemy machines."

"There's a reason I decided not to even bother with them and took them apart for parts and our simulators." Lelouch replied silkily, "I saw the writing on the wall for these hunks of junk before we even got our hands on one. I even set my expectations as low as they could go and I was still disappointed. They don't even have improved servomotors compared to the Glasgow."

"Bah, let's just stop talking about them. How much longer?" She was grinning in anticipation.

"Soon." Lelouch said, "We already know where their units are. We just need them closer. We're almost ready… We just need Euphie's signal."

 **-]|[-**

"Damn it all! How are we supposed to prove ourselves if they keep us off the front line!" Jeremiah Gottwald had not been having a good couple of weeks. At first, he had thought he had escaped punishment. Princess Euphemia had even praised his skills and his handling of the situation that got Kewell and his allies demoted for life. They were stuck cleaning latrines, if they hadn't already just left the military. Last he heard, Kewell was back in the homeland drinking himself into a stupor. The man probably hadn't shaved since Princess Euphemia had smacked him down. Jeremiah on the other hand had lost much of his prestige and the respect of most of the men he had once called friends. But despite that, he had remained in a good position in the military.

That had all changed when Cornelia and her Knights had arrived. The Witch of Britannia had relentlessly grilled him on what Orange was, much to his protests. He couldn't even remember releasing Kururugi. He hadn't been lying when he told them that one second he had been staring at Zero's mask, and the next his Knightmare was in tatters on the pavement of that bridge. But he hadn't been believed, and her Highness had personally ripped the rank insignia off of his uniform. Jeremiah had almost never regretted anything as much as he regretted making that monkey circus public. Hell, he wished he had never conceived the foolish idea in the first place! It should have been easy. What kind of idiot would announce his involvement in the _murder of a Prince_? It should have been an open and shut case.

And yet, Zero had appeared, and with it his chances for redemption and glory had gone up in smoke. Britannia's name had been dragged through the mud with Zero's presentation. No doubt the homeland was utterly furious. But he was Jeremiah Gottwald. He was one of Britannia's strongest pilots. He had survived the ridicule of an Empress' death on his hands. Surely he could prove himself… prove his loyalty once again!

Except he just wasn't being given the chance! Guilford in particular seemed to delight in dangling opportunities in front of his nose and then yanking them away. It was maddening! Next to him, Villetta sighed, "We were supposed to be assigned to General Darlton." She snorted sadly, "And to think I got my hopes up again."

He clutched his controls tensely. Villetta had been the only Pureblood to stick with him, yet even she mistrusted him a little now. His lack of memory of a deed he saw himself doing on _live fucking television_ was suspicious. He knew that! But it was the truth! He just _didn't remember doing it_. "I'm sorry Villetta." He said, a little hoarsely, "It's because of me that you're stuck here. If only they would give us the chance…!"

She shook her head, "I'm as much to blame as you are. I could have spoken out against the plan. It was stupid to depend on someone _not_ taking credit. We rolled the dice and they came up snake eyes." She eyed him flatly, "Frankly your lack of memory was a bit suspicious… until I remembered…"

"Remembered what?" He looked askance at her.

"That General Bartley and the rest of those men claimed the same thing." His eyes widened, remembering that little detail, "It seems more than just a little strange that every time Zero shows up and does something big, someone loses their memory."

"That's right…" He breathed in shock, "What in the world…?"

"Lord Jeremiah… if either of us want to even have a chance of rising again… _we need to capture him_." She said with finality, sliding back into her cockpit.

 **-]|[-**

"We've lost contact with Nakamura's unit!"

"No response from sector three!"

"Major Tamata has been killed!"

"Kuroda and Kurata are also gone!"

"WHAT ABOUT NAGAI?!"

Katase was gritting his teeth as his men visibly became more and more panicked by the second. ' _Damn it all._ ' He cursed inside the safety of his own mind, his head dipping downwards, ' _Where is Tōdō?! If only he were here! The divine winds would blow once more! We'd have another miracle of Itsukushima!_ ' He was entirely unaware that it was thoughts like these that contributed the JLF's success. Or lack thereof. Putting all their hopes and faith on a single man had strained the organization beyond belief. After Tōdō's miracle win against Britannia, they had promoted him immediately. Tōdō did not become a figurehead in the organization – for he was indeed one of their most skilled pilots – but he became their unwilling messiah. He had no desire to be seen as such. He knew for himself that he was not the man that others made him out to be, but the people needed a symbol regardless of his desires. Japanese had joined the JLF – which was merely the rotting corpse of the Japanese Army at the time – in droves, eager to see his miracle repeated once they had actual weapons.

But weeks and months had gone by without another miracle. Then years came and went, with some depots raided. They were no closer to liberating Japan than they had been seven years ago, and it was starting to show. Many had realized that Tōdō was a false messiah. Someone who was more interested in taking only fights he knew he could win. He was an excellent leader in his own right, but he stood no chance against someone like Cornelia. He simply wasn't that charismatic. And so recruitment had slowed. And then it had stalled.

Seven years later, the JLF was a shell of its former glorious size, as men abandoned their posts and tried to tough it out under Britannia.

…

The man himself ordered his two-carrier convoy to barrel straight through the blockade, "Sir, don't you think this is a little extreme?" The one speaking was one Shōgo Asahina, a member of the Four Holy Swords; Tōdō's personal unit.

Tōdō's deep voice commanded their obedience instantaneously, "Asahina, Chiba, prep the custom Burai immediately. Tell Urabe and Senba behind us to do the same. They've entirely blocked out all traffic in this area. Our men could already be under attack." He opened his eyes and glared at the road, "I only pray that we are in time."

 **-]|[-**

Down the slope, Darlton's group of Gloucesters were using their Slash Harkens to climb a sheer cliff. Darlton had the air of victory surrounding him, "And with this…"

On another part of the mountain, Cornelia unknowingly finished his statement, "The Resistance in Area Eleven is finished…"

She had no idea how wrong she was. Up on the white-peaked summit of the tallest Narita Mountain, Lelouch received a tiny text message on his phone from his beloved sister. He snapped his book shut, " **All preparations have been completed!** " He roared, and the machines started whirring to life, " **Black Knights… Prepare to move out!"**

"Finally!" Kallen cheered as several lights flashed on her Guren. Its cockpit was different from regular Knightmares. The seat was in a motorcycle style and the cockpit closed like a fighter jet's cockpit might, from the top down. The head – which had been retracted – flipped up and flashed ominously.

Several of the soldiers had gotten into their Knightmares and were reaffirming themselves, while others were doing the same on foot. Lelouch opened up his radio to the Black Knights, " **We the Black Knights are going to launch a surprise attack on the Britannians from the summit of the mountain! On my mark, charge down on point three! The purpose of our operation is the capture of Viceroy Cornelia! Our secondary objective is to test the capabilities of our Knightmares!** "

" **Wait, we're not here to aid the JLF?** " One of the Knights gasped.

" **Of course not.** " Kallen snorted, " **What have the JLF** _ **actually**_ **done in the past seven years?** " She asked, and after a moment's silence, she roared, " **NOTHING! They have done nothing of value! They never took out a single important official! They never succeeded in stopping the Refrain trade! Even their propaganda is useless!** "

" **The JLF are relics of the past! They are no closer to defeating Britannia than they were all those years ago when our enemy were the only ones with Knightmares!** " Lelouch continued from Kallen's mark, " **And worse, they have no** _ **plans**_ **in place for actually securing Japan should a miracle happen and the Britannians get forced out! Not one! They have yet to realize that the glory days of the old Japan are long gone!** "

Several of the men – mostly the original members of the Kōzuki resistance – flinched as they remembered the diatribe Zero had delivered on that train. Kallen got them back on track, " **Our breakthrough route will be opened by my Guren!** "

" **Indeed!** " Zero confirmed, " **Use penetrating electrode number three. Settle things with one blow!** "

" **Got it!** " She confirmed, stepping to the excavator with a '3' on its slightly-muddy surface. She grinned madly as the vicious silver claw closed on the electrode. " **Output confirmed.  
Wave Surger is maintaining level status.**" She took in a deep breath of anticipation. " **Induction!** " Her right hand clenched on the motorcycle-esque handle and she revved it up to the maximum output. The indicator on her screen filled up all the way as she jammed her thumb on the button.

Outside the Guren, a hellish red and black light shone from her hand. If they didn't know any better, they would have thought that the gates of hell were being opened up right at her palm. Underneath the ground, the hellish light continued down the electrode and then straight into the reservoir of water beneath their feet. The water flash-boiled.

The Radiant Wave Surger fell silent once more, before a cartridge ejected from the arm. Kallen let out the breath she had been holding. They all sat for a moment. Several worried that perhaps it hadn't worked. _And then the ground started to shake._

 **-]|[-**

"What in the world!" Cornelia's eyes widened as the whole damn mountain started to shake, "An earthquake? NOW of all times?!" She would never admit this to anyone, but she actually jumped in her seat as an ear-splitting crack rang through the heavens. She turned her cameras to the mountain's summit and her features went slack as she watched it practically collapse. She had heard stories in the homeland about the historic eruption of Mount Saint Helens. Even the oldest of them – Odysseus – had yet to be born when that eruption had happened. The landslides and pyroclastic flows had completely wiped out a city that had been built by the mountain, killing millions of Britannians. In some circles, it even became known as the Vesuvius of the modern era. "Brace yourselves!" She screamed across all friendly channels, a rare note of panic entering her voice. And then came what she feared.

The gigantic mass of sliding rock may as well have been a wall of freight trains derailing. The earth rumbled as the advancing wall of death charged downward, ripping trees asunder and annihilating all in its path. Cornelia breathed a small sigh of relief as she realized it wasn't coming for her group. A plume of dust and grit was rising into the air, and her breath caught as she realized who was in its path, "Darlton!"

The man in question had his anchors smashed into the ground, "Climb!" He roared to his regiment, "GET TO HIGHER GROUND!" Unfortunately, his Gloucester was one of the few machines built tough enough to survive. The Sutherlands of his squad didn't stand a chance. Their Harkens snapped from the strain and they were carried away, screaming in their cockpits. Thankfully, all of his sons fared as well as he was able to.

"STATUS REPORT!" Cornelia roared furiously as she watched the landslide smash through her forces. On her monitors, she watched as dozens of Knightmares were replaced by LOST symbols.

"Your Highness! Fall back! You're in danger there!" Guilford's voice cut across her cockpit.

She snarled, "I don't give a damn! Forget about me! Find out about Darlton! And where's Alex?"

…

Underneath them, the Japanese Liberation Front weren't fairing any better. "Will this place hold?!"

Katase's teeth ground as another yelled, "We've lost communication with site B! This center area should hold together but one of our escape routes has been cut off!"

…

"Oh my…" Lloyd's lackadaisical voice didn't actually sound concerned, "At this rate they'll be swept all the way to the bottom."

Cécile on the other hand, definitely was feeling it, "These heat readings are abnormal! This _has_ to have been artificial!" She told him as she skid to a stop by his terminal, "Did someone set off a steam explosion?" They watched as the wave of death – colored purple against the red terrain on their terminal – continued down the mountain and closer to the town.

"That's impossible." Lloyd told her, "Not even Rakshata's Radiant Wave Surger could do this."

Despite the situation, her lips twitched, "You don't sound too convinced of that."

He frowned, and was about to reply when Suzaku called over from inside the Lancelot, "What's going on? Has something happened?!"

Somehow, Lloyd and Cécile both came to the decision to keep their mouths shut for now, "Nothing you need to worry about! Just relax and continue waiting!" The last thing they needed was for Suzaku to charge out without an order.

…

Lelouch and Kallen were staring in morbid fascination, "Holy shit…" He heard Kallen whisper in their personal radio.

"I'll never doubt Nina again." He declared with a hidden shudder, "If anything it's even worse than she predicted."

They both winced as they realized the landslide was in no mood to even slow down. "I really, _really_ hope Euphie came through for us…" Kallen's voice sounded as meek and small as her Stadtfeld persona usually did. A voice totally unfitting the Ace of the Black Knights.

"I know she did." Lelouch told her reassuringly, ' _She_ _ **had**_ _to._ ' He bit his lip, "Now's not the time for those thoughts. We need to be focused."

"Right." She still sounded unsure of herself and both of them cringed as the first of the wave hit the city. Even from the top of the summit, they heard the sounds of shattering glass and groaning metal. Entire buildings were literally uprooted and carried away, crumbling and turning into more projectiles. One building was carried away and smashed right into another, sending shards of concrete and bricks exploding outward. Grit and dust soon started engulfing the town, and they could see no more.

He let out a breath and hardened his heart, " **Black Knights… MOVE OUT!** "

…

"New enemy force confirmed to be moving in from the summit." Cornelia's attention was caught by the radio, "Carius' unit is moving to engage them!"

She sneered, "Hoping to take advantage of all the confusion, are they?" She snarled out, "It won't help them."

The soldier's voice came on again, this time sounding a little bit more panicked, "Wait! Emergency message coming from Carius! It's not the JLF!" Her eyes widened as he paused, sounding almost like he had choked, "Carius' entire unit is down! They were wiped out in less than three seconds!"

"What?!" She gasped in shock. Carius had been in a Gloucester! How in the world had these garbage Burai succeeded in taking him and his backup out?!

"That symbol!" The voice gasped, "IT'S THE BLACK KNIG-ARGH!" The radio cut to static.

Cornelia grit her teeth, "Zero? He was already here?!"

…

"Zero!" Jeremiah gasped, breaking out into a flop sweat with a slightly _mad_ look on his face, "HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE!" His Landspinners started screeching and kicking up dirt, "ZERO!" He shot forward like a rocket.

"Lord Jeremiah!" Villetta gasped, and after a moment's hesitation, had her Knightmare screaming forward as well. If she could capture Zero, she could not only help clear Jeremiah's name, but she'd be set for life. She who dared won. Right?

"This requires drastic measures! If you want glory in life, then follow me!"

…

"Cornelia's reinforcements are incredibly limited." Lelouch said over the radio, "Your jobs are to delay or pick off any enemy units trying to reach Cornelia. Q1 and I shall be enough for this!"

"Yes sir!" The four Onryō that had been flanking him and Kallen split off, two going right and vanishing into the trees and the other two going up the cliff. He smirked as he saw a couple enemy Sutherlands racing towards them, trying to cut them off from Cornelia. They would _regret_ that.

Inoue's voice popped up through the radio, "Sir, we've already taken out three waves of regular tanks as well as three Gloucesters and five Sutherlands! We lost two Onryō! Your backs are clear!" He tutted in disappointment that they had already lost some machines, but it was acceptable.

"Well done, Inoue." He smiled and praised the only other woman of the Kōzuki Resistance.

…

Jeremiah's jaw slackened for a moment, "They took out Carius' unit?! Damn it!" He clenched his fist furiously, "There won't be another dead royal on my watch! Never again! If I can finish this before Zero reaches Princess Cornelia, then I'll be golden!"

"Lord Jeremiah!" Villetta's voice popped up on his radio and he smiled in glee, knowing she and his other former subordinates were behind him. With her behind him they couldn't lose!

"Villetta! I knew that you would come! Let's do this! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!"

…

Zero was cut off from speaking further by a _slightly_ furious voice, " **ZERO!** " Lelouch casually dodged the gunfire as several Sutherlands appeared in front of him. " **Is Zero here?! IF YOU ARE, THEN FACE ME, YOU COWARD! COME FORWARD AND FIGHT JEREMIAH GOTTWALD!** "

Lelouch chuckled in amusement, " **Hoh, how are you, Lord Jeremiah? Still in the army I see.** " He smirked, " **I'd love to stay and chat but I'm afraid I have an appointment with our beautiful Princess.** " He held back a snigger as he heard several of them start to choke, " **We'll have to play another time, my dear** _ **Orange**_ **.** "

" **Or-** " The slightly mad glint in Jeremiah's eye went the full mile as he started to choke on his own words, " **Ora-** " The man trembled in his seat and his eyes were almost popping out of his skull, " **ORANGE?!** " He sent his Sutherland hurtling forward in a mad charge, " **DIE!** "

Kallen burst into action as she brushed past Lelouch and kicked the Sutherland's rifle clean out of its hand, " **Don't you know the rules, Orange boy?** " She was smirking in amusement. Neither she nor Lelouch had honestly expected Orange to catch on – C.C. had been the one to take out the enemy machines after all – but Jeremiah's reaction clearly showed that he had not had a good time of it. Clearly he had lost his position, and the loss of his prestige had gone to his head, " **You can't just go straight for the King. He's a very busy man you see.** "

" **Damn you!** " Jeremiah snarled as he activated his Stun Tonfas. The hunks of metal on his forearms swung into position.

" **Lord Jeremiah!** " Villetta yelled in panic, " **I've never seen a Knightmare like that! Neither of them look normal! Could it be-!** "

" **Fool!** " He yelled, " **You think these Elevens have that kind of technology?!** " He ignored his more rational wing woman and charged.

" **Too slow!** " Kallen even yawned as she easily avoided the man's attacks. After spending weeks fighting Lelouch to get their prototypes made and then practicing in her Guren against his Raijin, the Sutherland was as boring for her as the Burai had been for Cornelia. She took out her Guren's fork knife which turned an almost-purple red and sliced straight through Jeremiah's Stun Tonfa. It continued on through the weapon and then turned his Sutherland's arm into a banana peel.

" **What?!** " Jeremiah gasped in utter shock, " **That's! That's an MVS! HOW THE HELL DID YOU ELEVENS GET YOUR HANDS ON THAT!** " He grunted as a blazingly-fast kick from the Guren to his right knee actually snapped the joint straight in half. Wires sparked dangerously and fluids spewed from the joint before he crashed to one knee on the dirt.

Now immobile, he was even easier pickings. Guren's silver claw grabbed his Sutherland by the head, " **Sorry!** " She smirked as she revved her Surger, " _ **Not sorry!**_ " Jeremiah's Knightmare was engulfed by that hellish red glow of her Radiation Surger. Something very strange started happening to the Sutherland. The metal started to bulge and crumple, almost looking like it was trying to bubble. First the head and then the rest of the machine started to deform, screws and other vital pieces popping off as the machine no longer conformed to manufacturing tolerances.

"What the?!" Jeremiah snarled as his controls became unresponsive, "NO! WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!"

"Lord Jeremiah! EJECT!" Villetta's panicked voice sounded in his radio before even it started to get scrambled.

Jeremiah was sweating horribly. His hair was a mess and only his iron will kept him from howling in agony. His eyes were bulging in their sockets and a thin stream of blood started running down his nose, "I can't run now! Zero's right here in front of me! He's standing right here!" The alarms started blaring in his cockpit, and one in particular caught his attention as he started to tremble, "Damn it! The auto-eject! Don't you dare activate!" Blood was now pouring in rivulets from both nostrils, "I can still…! I CAN STILL GET ZERO!" His body was twitching horribly, "GAHHH!" With drool leaking from his lips, he twitched one final time, almost breaking his own neck as it snapped to one side before he slumped over. His instrumentation went silent as his cockpit block shot away from the ruined Knightmare Frame.

Villetta sat in stunned horror as the remnants of the Sutherland exploded, framing the new monster in a macabre inferno. "She got Lord Jeremiah…" She swallowed heavily, "He was our best…"

Kallen smirked victoriously, "With this Guren Sanshiki… I can't lose!"

 **-]|[-**

 **Here we get to see the consequences of some earlier actions. Villetta is very suspicious of Zero but she has nowhere to** _ **direct**_ **those suspicions. She doesn't remember even a faceless student, so she can't be suspicious of Lelouch (nor for that matter, use Shirley as bait.) So she and Jeremiah never see Diethard, who can't relay the Narita information to Zero. That puts him with slightly less standing in the Black Knights even discounting the core group's opinions on the man. Good thing Lelouch already knew Narita was coming. Instead, it's turned out that she's suspicious about the memory losses everyone keeps suffering, but that's not exactly something she can follow up on. It does however, make her slightly less suspicious of Jeremiah, which is why she remains his partner.**

 **Yep, we're skipping the Guren Mark II and going straight into the Mark III. Not much different between them, but there are a few. The RWS is slightly improved and the Fork Knife has already been made into a MVS.**

 **Hope you all liked the Onryō! I know we haven't actually been able to see what Lelouch's Raijin can do yet, but this seemed like a good place to end it. I'm sure some of you may have an interesting guess or two All will be revealed on the next** **episode of Dragon Bal** **-.**

 **This chapter and the next won't have very much fluff, if any. A story needs balance after all. Hope the action we got in this was good. More in the next chapter, where we'll wrap up Narita.**

 **See you all next time!  
**

 **Cheers!**

 **Primordial**


	8. Turn 08 - Vengeful Ghosts

**Didja miss me?**

 **My word, does it feel good to finally get this chapter out. Almost a year to the day since the last update. I** _ **really**_ **am sorry for leaving this for so long. I got caught up in other projects and interests and when the inspiration came back, guess what? I had no fucking computer to write with because my laptop gave up the ghost! You can read ALL about that fucking saga on my profile if you like.**

 **Which brings me to the next point which I will now be including as standard in all chapters;** **ALL INFO ON MY STORY PROGRESS CAN BE FOUND ON MY PROFILE. I KEEP IT UPDATED. If you want to know priorities and progress for updates, just head on over. My profile won't bite. I promise.**

 **My thanks to Seerking for pointing out that I've been misspelling Ohgi's name for tHE ENTIRE FUCKING STORY ARRGRGHGHGGHGHUHGJISCXBFKJHVSGDOIPU. And big thanks to him for helping out in some areas that just didn't want to move.**

 **A large part of this chapter has actually been written… since the last update actually. But it just never felt** _ **finished**_ **. I touched up what I could when the CG urge struck but there was just something** _ **missing**_ **and I couldn't figure out what exactly. Then the computer bullshit and… yeah. Here's to the next one not being a piece of shit and stalling for a year.**

 **Thanathos has also been a big help on multiple fronts.**

 **And a BIG thank you to all those who submitted Knightmare designs… Even if my dumb ass forgot to save them in a word doc so now I'm going to have to go BACK through dozens of PM chains to find them again. ;-; Either way, keep em coming! I loved some of the designs you guys came up with and was able to cannibalize a couple different ones for the Onryō. Big thanks to X009 in particular for that one!**

 **-]|[-**

 **Turn 08 – Vengeful Ghosts**

 **-]|[-**

Villetta felt the horror surge through her. ' _J…Jeremiah…_ ' She was struck dumb by the site of her leader's former Knightmare burning like a pyre. Jeremiah had been their best pilot by a country mile. He had not only overcome Kewell's betrayal but had fought well enough to not only survive long enough for help to arrive, but had even managed to do damage and partially disable two of the enemy frames.

And this _Eleven_ had just treated him like yesterday's garbage.

There was a lump in her throat that seemed to be preventing her from swallowing. Her fists made creaking sounds on the controls as she squeezed. ' _We have to do_ something!' Her voice sounded weak even in her own head, and she forced the traitorous thoughts of defeat down with nothing but sheer force of will. She grit her teeth almost to the point where she was risking fractures, "FIGHT!" She roared across her allied channels despite the honest terror she was feeling, "FIGHT TO THE END! DEFEND THE VICEROY AT ALL COSTS!"

"Yes, my Lord!" Two of the remaining Purebloods yelled as they charged forward.

Lelouch let out a sigh, "You're all too hasty. Didn't I say we didn't have time to play today?" His Raijin whirred to life, the black weapons at his hip swinging up and pointing forward.

Villetta's jaw dropped in dread as she was the only one a high enough rank to recognize the weapons for what they were, "NO WAIT!" She screamed at her men in panic. It was far too late. The twin barrels at the Raijin's hip shot two golden beams forward at such a high speed that neither Sutherland even had a chance to recognize that they were in danger. The beams impacted and smashed straight through the armor, punching almost perfect holes through the cockpits. The beams continued forward and smashed into the ground, digging twin trenches for a couple meters. The Sutherlands lumbered forward for a moment through their momentum before both fell over, the holes crackling with lightning. They both exploded into pyres of flames themselves. "The VARIS too…" Villetta trembled in her seat, "They even stole the VARIS too?!"

" **That's right!** " Her attention was grabbed by Kallen, " **We can finally fight you sons of bitches head on!** " Before she could move, the MVS knife the Guren had thrown cut off her right leg at the knee, digging itself into the ground. Her Sutherland tipped over and the Raijin landed right before it and its foot crushed its head with a stomp. It had an evil glint in its golden eyes as the VARIS rifles at its waist aimed at the downed machine.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Villetta screamed in complete terror as she yanked her emergency eject handles and the cockpit soared away, unharmed. The shaken woman inside was another matter, her pride and composure as shredded as her Knightmare.

"We've wasted enough time here." Lelouch radioed Kallen, "Let's move out. We have a date and I'd hate to miss it."

They took off, casually taking care of any other Purebloods along the way.

 **-]|[-**

On the Britannian side of things, the leadership was quite close to pulling their hair out. Only Euphemia, Cornelia, Darlton and Guilford managed to keep even a semblance of cool, "What are our losses?" Cornelia's oldest Knight and general grit his teeth.

"We're only reading signals from twenty percent of our forces." The man who gave him the answer sounded as shaken as Darlton had ever heard anyone sound, "That landslide almost wiped us out!"

"Twenty?!" He snarled, "We can't keep this up! We need to regroup with the Princess!" Several explosions erupted near their formation as the JLF renewed their fire with gusto. No doubt they were elated over the devastation of Britannian units. "We're going to get pinned down if we don't move now! Edgar, David… Go forward and take out any artillery! Claudio, you're with me! Bart, Alfred and the rest of the survivors… Make sure our backs are clear! If you see any Sutherland still functional help them out!" The six leading Gloucesters all split into three groups, while the 'trainee' pilots started trying to dig out the few Sutherlands that hadn't just been annihilated.

Edgar and David immediately started racing up the mountain, where machine gun fire was protecting all of the large howitzers that had once again started raining fire down the mountainside. They were quite fortunate that the ground up here was sturdier than down lower, where more material had collected. If that hadn't been the case, today might have ended up even worse than it already had. Edgar threw his lance and destroyed one encampment while his Slash Harkens cut the barrel of the howitzer in half. He and David leapt apart just in time, as a shell hit where they had stood moments before. The land erupted in a plume of dirt and rocks that peppered the ground.

David rolled to avoid an RPG round and his anti-personnel cannon made quick work of the JLF soldiers on foot. His machine gun started spitting out bullets that shredded some of the howitzers. He used his lance to stab through the platform, creating a hole. "This looks important!" He chuckled as he dropped a Chaos Mine into the hole. Off to the side, Edgar had picked up his lance and the duo continued rampaging.

Darlton senior growled as he saw a Burai with a sniper rifle aiming at one of his sons, "Not on my watch!" His right Slash Harken fired forward and pierced right through the Burai's cockpit, which had whirled towards him in panic. The tether started reeling back while the anchor expanded, dragging the Knightmare with it. He stopped reeling and grabbed the tether with one of his hands, yanking the doomed machine into the air as a makeshift flail. With a roar, he smashed one Burai into a firing squad of Burai that had just managed to get out of the ground after the elevator had been cleared of earth. All four machines practically exploded, metal scrap raining onto the somewhat loose ground.

"Father is showing off again." Alfred chuckled as he watched their father dismantle the enemy forces.

"That's dad for you…" Claudio smiled pleasantly.

…

Euphie stared in not a small amount of horror at the utter devastation, ' _Dear lord… if we hadn't evacuated that town…_ ' She let out a breath and hardened herself. She knew that they – she, Lelouch and everyone else involved – had done _everything_ in their power to make sure no innocent civilians would get caught up in this. She knew from her commanders that they hadn't found anyone else in the city, despite blaring air raid horns and extremely loud megaphones for over half an hour. There was no way anyone could just sleep through that or ignore it. They had done all they could, "Status report!" She said firmly.

"Our forces have been devastated." The man was sweating heavily, "Sub-Viceroy! We must act! We have to move the G1!"

"Absolutely not!" She snapped at him, and he shrank back, seeing a shadow of Cornelia above her sister's shoulder. Euphie would be quite pleased that the subtle illusion had worked, "Our medical field is behind us, as are the evacuees! This is our final line of defense!" The light bulb went off in her head and she smiled. She took a step forward and made a very specific call.

…

In the Camelot trailer, Lloyd had continued to monitor the situation, "Lloyd, what's going on?" His Lancelot's pilot asked, a hard note in his voice.

Lloyd still had his perpetual half-grin on his face, "Something very unnatural." Suzaku parroted the word in confusion, "There was an absolutely gigantic landslide that crushed the main forces. We have unconfirmed reports that the Black Knights were sighted."

"Zero!" Suzaku ground his teeth together.

"Congratulations, Warrant Officer. This may be our chance!" he said cheerfully.

"LLOYD!" Cécile bit out, "You're too rash!"

"Whatever do you mean, my dear?" Lloyd questioned, obviously confused.

Cécile put on an extremely pleasant and saccharine look on her face, "Would you like the list alphabetically or chronologically?" It was so obviously fake that everyone but Lloyd himself would have realized it.

"Ehh, I think I'll pass." The eccentric genius told her, "Anyway, while the high command's still gathering data, all we can d-"

They were cut off by Princess Euphemia's authoritative voice, "A.S.E.E.C.!" They all stood to attention. Suzaku especially couldn't take his eyes off her, "You hereby have my permission to deploy. Suzaku…" She looked at him, and he almost puffed out his chest, "Make sure my sister is okay."

"Yes, your Highness!" He steeled himself, "I won't fail you!"

 **-]|[-**

" _Suzaku, are you sure you want to do this?_ " Cécile asked him in concern, " _These Sand Panels are not easy to use!_ "

Lloyd chuckled happily on his end of the call, "I suppose _that's one way to describe it. The last Knight to try to use one immediately crashed and shredded his test Knightmare. And several concrete walls when the Panels kept going with one of his legs still attached. I believe he was quoted saying he'd prefer strapping rockets to his feet rather than trying them again._ "

" _Lloyd! You're not helping!_ " A commotion was heard momentarily, before she started speaking again, " _You could really hurt yourself Suzaku!_ "

"I'll be fine." The brown-haired boy said with finality, "I promised Princess Euphemia I would help Princess Cornelia."

Cécile let out a worried huff, " _Very well then. Advanced weapon system Z01 Lancelot.  
Utilize the Sand Panels to climb the liquefied slope at max combat speed and rescue the Viceroy!_"

"Yes, my Lord!" He readied himself.

" _Suzaku, there's one thing I want to ask you._ " Suzaku turned a questioning look to the screen displaying Lloyd on his console, " _More than anything, you hate when people die. Yet, you are in the military. Why is that?_ "

Suzaku's hands clenched on his control, "It's _because_ I want to stop people from getting killed that I'm in the military."

Lloyd's amused expression didn't change, " _My, my, that's a contradiction that might get you killed some day._ "

Suzaku watched in bemusement as Cécile's hand came into the camera view and yanked Lloyd away. He heard what sounded like a slap and a punch amidst Lloyd's cries for mercy. He smirked a little momentarily before his expression hardened, "Lancelot… LAUNCHING!" The great White Knight shot forward at a far greater speed than Suzaku rightly had been prepared for. He had to adjust his stance almost immediately or else his Knightmare would have gone ass-over-teakettle, possibly with one of the sand panels ripping themselves off his feet and launching into the air. Possibly with his feet _still attached_. But he regained control and barreled his way up the ruined mountain, taking a moment to frown at its destroyed beauty. Why the hell did these people have to continue fighting?! Couldn't they see what they were doing to the country?!

 **-]|[-**

" **So, we meet again, Princess.** " Lelouch smirked as he and Kallen skid to a stop, throwing up some dirt in the process. " **Looking as lovely as ever.** " Indeed, her Gloucester was still immaculate despite all the fighting. Even her white cape hadn't been stained. Anyone who didn't know what it was made of would probably just stop and goggle over that fact.

" **Zero.** " Cornelia's eyebrow twitched but she was still smirking. It was two against her and a good portion of her Royal Guard, including her Knight, " **So, you** _ **did**_ **cause this mess. If I had known you were coming I would have prepared for our dance.** "

" **I'm afraid I could hardly wait to see you again.** " Lelouch lost his amusement and became serious, knowing this was a whole other kind of opponent. He couldn't afford to take her lightly.

" **Princess! We have five unknowns coming from the rear!** " Guilford's voice interrupted them. " **We just received word that they punched through the blockade prior to the earthquake!** "

Lelouch furrowed his eyebrows, " **The JLF?** " he mumbled out loud, " **Ha, I guess Tōdō was indeed gone. They were losing a bit** _ **too**_ **easily.** " He signaled to Kallen, " **My Red Queen… entertain her Knights, will you?** "

" **With pleasure!** " The redhead yelled, charging forward.

" **Tch**!" Cornelia spat, " **Zero is mine! Take care of her!** "

" **Yes, your Highness!** " Her Royal Guard yelled as their Landspinners screeched.

' _Big mistake!_ ' Lelouch smirked as he watched Kallen destroy both Gloucesters with nary an effort. She jumped into the air to avoid the lance thrust, landing _on top of the weapon_ and kicking its head clean off. She spun through the air in a backflip and landed, immediately crouching and avoiding another thrust from the second knight. Her MVS knife turned red as she cleaved the machine in half at the waist. The cockpit landed harshly and its emergency escape triggered immediately. The entire block raced back and clipped another Gloucester in its flight path, who had been trying desperately to dodge. The two went spinning and careening to the floor.

Cornelia was stunned, ' _Ten seconds?_ ' She clenched her controls, ' _She took out three Gloucesters in ten seconds?! It's just like that damn Lancelot Asplund won't stop bragging about._ ' She clenched her jaw, " **That's a seventh-generation frame… isn't it?** "

She hadn't truly been expecting a response, so she was surprised when she got one, " **That's right.** " Zero confirmed for her, " **But I'm afraid that's the least of your worries.** "Her eyes widened as he lifted his machine's arms up and then snapped them down. What she initially thought to be Slash Harkens shot from his wrists. She was wrong. The whips – for that was what they had to be – ignited with lightning. They crackled and screeched ominously, forks of electricity snapping off and hitting random things and leaving scorch marks on the ground. " _ **It's not the only one.**_ " He charged forward towards the speechless Cornelia.

 **-]|[-**

Nearby, Tōdō was finally close to arriving onto the battlefield. The trailers had been equipped with remote-controlled drivers as they all prepared. "All units, are you ready?" The man himself asked the rest of his Four Holy Swords.

"Yes sir!" Three male voices and one female voice confirmed.

"All right. Deploy the custom Burai!" he ordered, "Listen carefully. If this landslide was manmade, it should allow us to hit Cornelia from behind. We will capture Cornelia now, and take revenge for what happened seven years ago!"

…

" _Suzaku!_ " He heard Cécile yell as he was starting to close in on Viceroy Cornelia, " _We have new orders!_ "

"WHAT?!" He yelled in shock. What could be more important than securing the Viceroy?!

" _We have confirmation of two trailer trucks that have broken our blockade! They're racing towards Princess Cornelia's rear flank! We believe them to be reinforcements for the Japan Liberation Front!_ "

Suzaku grit his teeth furiously, ' _Tōdō-sensei!_ ' It had to be him. There was no way the JLF would have been getting destroyed _as_ easily as they were if Tōdō was present.

" _The Viceroy is already engaged with the Black Knights! If these are in fact Tōdō and his Four Holy Swords with improved units as we suspect, then there is a chance one of them could take out the Viceroy while she's occupied! You need to intercept them! Princess Cornelia is only engaged against two enemy units. We'll have to trust that she can handle herself._ "

' _Damn it all!_ ' He snarled mentally, "Confirmed! Changing to intercept path!" He veered left and pushed even more speed out of his sand panels. There was a forest in between him and his target, so he pulled out his VARIS and changed it to the fourth impact rail. The barrel elongated just as it had at Lake Kawaguchi. He pulled the trigger once, and like that night, it _annihilated_ all in its path. Entire trees were uprooted and dirt was flung out of his path, crashing to the floor dozens and even hundreds of meters away. The VARIS shrunk down again and he put it back under his cockpit. The trucks were right in front of him, and he saw Knightmares start to lift out from the trailers. He scowled and put his shield up, the Blaze Luminous igniting in front of him.

With a roar, he charged forward and rammed straight into the lead trailer. The Knightmares managed to jump free, but the truck got bowled over and flung right off the dirt road. It tipped onto its side and screeched forward – knocking smaller trees over – until it impacted a large enough tree trunk to stop its momentum. The trailer almost sandwiched like an accordion, before igniting into flames. A hellish explosion range through the air.

The five Knightmares looked comparable to the Burai he had been seeing images of, except they had long, trailing antennae. One of the five machines had a lighter color scheme, which made him assume it was his sensei's machine. They still didn't have any pictures of the Black Knight Knightmares though, since no one had survived long enough to transmit them.

"Damn it!" Asahina yelled, "What is this thing?! It doesn't look like any Gloucester!"

"Don't lose your focus!" Tōdō yelled out, "We will defeat it like any other!" The five pilots took out their brand-new weapons – the signature of the Burai-Kai – the Katen Yaibatou. These Revolving Blade Swords amounted to superheated chainsaws, and were developed by Rakshata Chawla's team. Lelouch had come to prefer the MVS, and had decided to go forward with its development instead, feeling that the RBS would be too dangerous in case of a mechanical failure. Rakshata had pouted over it for a while, but had understood his reasoning.

"You won't get past me!" He unsheathed his MVS from their slots on his cockpit block, "I can't waste time here!" He shot forward and clashed with the lead, lighter-colored Burai-Kai, "What?!" he gasped, "The MVS!" He growled as the RBS screeched against his MVS and was forced to back off as the other four tried to surround him, "It didn't cut through! Damn!"

"Rotating Absolute Power formation!" Tōdō roared and the machines started circling Suzaku. They all began to fire and Suzaku was forced to crouch and reactivate the Blaze Luminous. The gunfire pinged off of him and the Holy Swords cursed, stopping their fire, "Damn it! Cornelia will escape at this rate!" he took out one of his Chaos Mines and threw it. Suzaku threw one arm behind him and leapt up, firing his Harken Booster at the ground for some extra oomph. He shot towards the mine and sliced it in half before it could activate, "WHAT!" Tōdō's eyes widened in shock. Just who were they facing that could cut a Chaos Mine in half before it could deploy?

Suzaku roared, "That won't work against me again!" he fired his Slash Harken at the lead unit, but at the last minute the booster activated and it changed course in midair, slashing through one of the other Burai-Kai unit's midsection. "One down!" He yelled in victory as Senba cursed as he flew through the air in his ejected cockpit.

"Damn you!" Urabe roared, and he was the next to fall. Suzaku landed and rolled forward, dodging a slash from Chiba. His Knightmare's foot crashed into the head of Urabe's unit and knocked it off its feet. The MVS made quick work of it as its own RBS flew from the unit's now-limp grip. Suzaku cut the unit's legs off and sent the cockpit rocketing away.

Then he whipped around like a tornado and launched all four of his Slash Harkens. Two of them caught two of the Burai-Kai in the hands and ripped them off, knocking their blades free. He landed and raced forward, clotheslining one and slashing the arms off the other.

Tōdō grit his teeth, "Retreat! We've lost this one!" he yelled at the remaining members. The Four Holy Swords and their mythic leader raced away, licking their wounds and furious at the injuries to their pride. How in the world had they lost to a single unit?

Suzaku whirled around and sped towards Cornelia. "I'm coming, Princess!" he said, ' _I won't let you down, Princess Euphemia!_ '

 **-]|[-**

Ohgi, Tamaki, Inoue, Sugiyama, Yoshida and Minami had all been put into one squadron, with four rookies as support. Normally Lelouch wouldn't have grouped together his commanders, but this was a special occasion. Lelouch knew that the Glaston Knights would definitely survive the fight against the JLF and the Landslide, so anything less than the entire group was doomed to end in failure. He needed the Glaston Knight delayed for his plan to work out. "Alright guys, target the Glaston Knights!" Ohgi commanded, as serious as they had ever seen him. Zero had put him in charge of this operation and he could not fail, "We're in Knightmares that are just as good as theirs! Let's give them hell!"

"HAI!" They all roared, and cleared the mountain.

"What!" David yelled, and threw his lance forward to block the falling Onryō, "What the hell are these?!"

"These aren't Burai you Britannian pig!" Tamaki roared as his reinforced fist dug straight into the Gloucester's lance and tore it apart.

David let go of the lance and had his Landspinners smoke up as he backpedaled. "Damn you!" His Slash Harkens fired forward, but rather than blowing the Onryō's arms off, the glancing blows deflected with loud screeches. The armor on Tamaki's unit was pretty banged up and gouged up, but it was still functional, "These aren't Glasgow knockoffs!" he growled to the rest of his squad, "Group up!"

"Oh no you don't!" Tamaki drove forward, intending on taking his first kill, but was interrupted by Edgar's lance, "Tch!" He groaned as the lance clipped him and sent him into a spin.

"Tamaki!" Sugiyama yelled as he pointed one arm forward. The first two plates on his arm nearest to the wrist lifted up and revealed two mini-rockets, which fired forward leaving behind smoke trails. The first one impacted Edgar's hastily lifted lance and completely blew it apart. Edgar dodged the second one by leaping into the air and firing his Slash Harken's at the downed Tamaki. Both of his legs were cut off just as he was standing, and the cursing redhead ejected. The five on two didn't last long, as Inoue fired her first two missiles and blew Edgar's machine apart at the hips. The auto eject fired immediately and set him to safety.

"Edgar!" Andreas roared furiously as the rest of the Glaston Knights finally caught up to the two who had been acting as the vanguard.

"You'll pay for that!" Alfred roared as his machine gun started spitting out fire. Inoue's Onryō was peppered but her armor held, especially when she crossed her arms to take some of the bullets.

"Get away from her!" Sugiyama snarled furiously as his Slash Harkens fired, interrupting Alfred. The blonde dodged the anchors and charged forward, his lance primed to impale Sugiyama. Andreas fired his Slash Harkens at Alfred's back, the two anchors passing right by his son who didn't even flinch. Sugiyama whipped out a sword with his right hand and his Tonfa on the left. Ohgi's Slash Harkens flew past his head and the four anchors smashed together and deflected, "DIE!" Sugiyama and Alfred both roared as the sparks from the two impacts cleared. Alfred thrust his lance forward which was knocked away by the Tonfa. The sword cleaved into the Gloucester's neck and cut its head off, before continuing and cut off the right arm. The Gloucester barreled into the Onryō, knocking both the ground. The impact was so great that the Onryō's cockpit deformed and the hips started crackling. Both machine were forced to eject, with the Gloucester exploding seconds later.

The four eager rookies had managed to take out all of the surviving Sutherlands and most of the non-Glaston Gloucesters, though when Claudio had stepped in, all four of them had wiped out in seconds. Claudio's Gloucester looked slightly banged up, but otherwise was battle ready. "Sugiyama! Damn you!" Inoue yelled as the shoulder plates on her Onryō retracted, revealing three rockets on each. The ones closest to the head were the biggest and the ones farthest were the smallest. They fired into the air and then started chasing Bart around.

"Heat seeking!" The blue-haired man groaned as he tried dodging them. The first four he managed to dance around and destroyed with some gunfire, but the fifth blew his leg off at the knee. "NO!" He yelled in sheer panic as his machine skid on the dirt while the last missile closed in. Claudio fired his Slash Harkens at Yoshida and took him out of the fight while he was distracted. The redheaded David dove in front of the missile with his lance held protectively in front of him. When it impacted, the resulting explosion almost blew the rest of them off their feet. Inoue let out a cry and ejected when a boulder smashed right into her chestplate. When the smoke cleared, the two Gloucesters were in pieces, though to Andreas' relief the cockpits were intact.

"Bart! David!" Claudio yelled in worry into his radio. A slight groan was all that let him know at least one of them was still alive.

Andreas let out a roar of utter fury as he charged forward. His lance was pointed straight at Minami's cockpit. The man in question pulled out his swords and readied for the fight, planning on deflecting with his Tonfa the way Sugiyama had. Only Andreas was one of the best pilots in the army. He stopped short and the Tonfa swept through the air, hitting nothing and unbalancing the Onryō. "Foolish child!" He rumbled as his Slash Harkens fired forward, slicing off one of the arms. He growled as he was forced to sacrifice his gun-holding arm for the maneuver. Ohgi's Slash Harken crashed right into the joint and the limb started malfunctioning. He ejected it and kicked it towards Ohgi, and the resulting explosion blew the Onryō's backwards. The tether – which hadn't wound up yet – was severed and Ohgi lost one of his Slash Harkens.

Andreas blocked Minami's sword swipe with his lance, which deformed from the impact. The two kicked out, and the Onryō's leg crumpled entirely, making it unstable. The machine wobbled lightly as it raced back mostly on one leg. Andreas' Landspinner malfunctioned so he chased with his Slash Harkens. Minami sliced them apart with his sword. The plates on his upper arm slid open and out popped a Chaos Mine.

Claudio had been racing forward, but was forced to skid to a stop and backpedal in a hurry. The molten shards tore up his arms and his armor, while also destroying one of his landspinners. He fell to one knee as the explosion destroyed his leg and just did his best to protect his cockpit. Andreas threw his lance at the machine which ripped off one of its legs, forcing Minami's ejection. Just before he did, he fired off his Slash Harkens in a last hurrah. Andreas dodged both of them and grabbed one as it slowed down. He jerked his wrist and turned the anchor into a whip, which dented the armor on Ohgi's arm just as he managed to get back to his feet. He finally fired his last Slash Harken, which managed to give Ohgi's chestplate a very good dent and knocked him around something fierce. The final Black Knight had enough. He turned tail and retreated.

Darlton's machine was the only one left standing, though it was a far cry from its usually-pristine shine. The bear of a man let out a sigh and went to make sure his sons who hadn't ejected were alright. "What a disaster of a day." He growled out.

 **-]|[-**

"Your Highness!" Her last Royal Guard except for Guilford roared raced forward. He intercepted Zero, raising his lance to punch straight through it.

" **Nuisance!** " Lelouch yelled as he whipped his right arm forward. The whip made an audible crack as it cleaved straight through the golden lance and through the Gloucester's arm. The arm was cut off at the elbow and fell downward, still clutching the lance. They both smashed into the dirt, the severed piece of the lance rolling away. Both cuts were still glowing red hot and leaking molten metal. His other whip wrapped around the Gloucester's head and yanked it clean off. A kick had the Knightmare falling on broken knees. The machine had bared all it could, and the auto eject activated.

All that were left were Cornelia and Guilford, "Guildford." Cornelia said, her voice steady despite the fury on her face.

"Your Highness?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of either unit.

"Remind me to triple Camelot's budget." She said steadily, "I do believe they may have a point about these damn Seventh-Generation Machines."

"Of course, my lady." He held back a chagrined grin. He wasn't entirely sure they'd be getting out of this at this point, but he appreciated the Princess' attempt at levity. So, he returned it to his Princess, "Well, you _were_ hoping for a challenge, weren't you?"

"Me and my big mouth." She actually chuckled a little.

He charged forward, " **Have at you!** " He charged Kallen and her Guren, with Cornelia following a second behind towards Lelouch and his Raijin.

"Poor choice." Lelouch commented, a little disappointed. These two may have been on a whole other level from the other Gloucesters that made up her Royal Guard, but they were still _Gloucesters._ Cornelia fought with an acrobatic style, full of leaps and Harken-assisted changes in direction. She swung her lance at the Raijin's head, aiming to knock his block off, but the machine was just too fast. Lelouch moved back a slight bit and kicked out. Cornelia caught his foot but the impact was so powerful that it knocked her hand away and her machine off balance. She almost fell to her knees but her Landspinners managed to keep up with her and she righted herself. She extended her lance forward – a feature only she, Darlton and Guilford had available to them – and prongs snapped open. She looked to catch Zero unawares and pull him in, but a quick movement to the left and a swipe of his right arm upwards had her precious weapon cleaved in half, the impact zones molten. She let go of it with a curse and raced backwards.

Kallen caught Guilford's straightforward charge with her silver hand. That hellish red light erupted from her palm and started making the lance warp, crush and bulge. Guildford sweated as he pressed a button and ejected his arm entirely, as even it had started to deform. He backed away in the smoke, firing blindly at where Kallen was. She emerged and dodged them with an ease that seemed mocking to the experienced knight. She closed in and slashed his gun to ribbons with what he realized had to be an MVS.

Cornelia was backpedaling and shooting, but the Raijin was just too fast. It caught up to her in an instant and dodged her hastily-thrown kick, slapping her leg so she spun. And spin she did, losing balance momentarily and ending up on her knees. Before she could do another thing, the two plasma whips crashed down on her Gloucester and cleaved her arms off at the shoulders. ' _Euphie…_ ' She thought as the Raijin drew its arm back once more, a single tear slipping down her cheeks, ' _I'm so sorry…_ '

"Princess Cornelia!" Guilford yelled madly, trying desperately to get past the Guren. She followed easily and sliced his legs off. "NOOOOOO!" He crashed to the ground and slid forward.

"Goodnight!" Kallen yelled cheerfully as she grabbed both arms and bent them behind the machine. With a metallic groan, the unit's arms were ripped off. She really had to do something nice for Lelouch and Milly. Not only was this Guren amazing but the weeks of experience she had fighting against a skilled pilot in his own right had done her a world of good.

Inside of her cockpit, Cornelia's eyes widened as – instead of killing her as they had expected – the whips dimmed in brightness and intensity. Instead of cleaving her unit in half, it wrapped around her torso. Immediately, electricity started to get pumped straight into her unit. She let out a cry and shielded herself as her instrumentation started to crackle, fearing that they were about to explode in her face. Thankfully, they just dimmed entirely as her unit lost all power. The whips disengaged and stopped drawing power entirely, whizzing back into his wrists. Cornelia's unit slumped over, starting to fall forward onto its face before the Raijin caught it under arm and lifted it. It was being lifted by the waist and its legs were dangling, dragging on the dirt.

" _Excellent work, Q1_." Lelouch was smirking as he put his mask back onto his face.

" _You too, Zero!_ " Kallen felt exhilaration rush through her veins. They had done it! They had defeated the Britannian Goddess of Victory herself!

" **ZERO!** " A new voice drew their attention as the Lancelot barreled into the field of battle, both swords blazing red. Lelouch frowned momentarily, wondering where he had heard that voice before. " **Unhand the Viceroy!** " Lelouch chuckled lightly as Kallen intercepted the white Knightmare, forcing it to dodge out of the way of a swipe of her knife. The two danced for a moment, before Suzaku growled as he realized who wouldn't be able to out speed the other machine. "How is it as fast as the Lancelot?!" He demanded in worry.

" _Looks like your dance partner has arrived, my Red Queen!_ " He smirked maliciously, " _Why don't you show him what a real Knightmare handles like?_ "

" _My pleasure!_ " She yelled as she parried a swipe from the machine's other MVS, catching it with her Radiant Wave Surger. The blade looked almost purple under the light of the radiation wave before it started bulging and deforming. Suzaku let it go as it exploded.

" **No! Get back here!** " The voice was hoarse as Zero raced away, Cornelia's Gloucester under his arm, " **ZEROOOOOOOO!** "

 **-]|[-**

Captured.

That was not a word Cornelia had ever considered applying to herself. Not even in her very first battle – when nerves and jitters had caused her to make so many mistakes that Darlton had torn strips from her hide – had she been pressed enough to fear even defeat. Today had been an unmitigated disaster. She truly had _not_ been expecting Zero this day, and with the sheer superiority those machines had shown, she wasn't entirely certain that she could have won the day even if she had been prepared. She had _never_ seen a Gloucester taken out in anything under a minute, even when the enemy used swarm tactics. She had barely seen Gloucesters taken out at all! Most of her losses prior to the landslide had been Sutherlands. To see a single unit destroyed in _ten seconds_ was such a ludicrous thought with their technological superiority that she would have laughed in the face of anyone who suggested it.

That red machine had taken _three_.

She had most certainly been wrong in writing off Earl Asplund's research initially. Kururugi – the Eleven pilot – had certainly proved his worth during Lake Kawaguchi. Yet still, she had almost ignored the lot of them. Had she been better equipped, perhaps this fight wouldn't have been so one-sided.

She eyed the gunblade she always carried. It was lying securely by her feet. She grabbed it and strapped it to her leg. She wasn't about to go out without a fight, and she'd be damned before she suffered the indignity of being a prisoner without making them damn well work for it. She snorted to herself rather melancholically, ' _I do rather hope this Zero is actually as noble as he makes himself out to be._ ' She'd bite her own tongue off before she was subjected to _that_.

She was jarred from her thoughts when the sounds outside her darkened cockpit indicated that her Gloucester was being sat down. She had been suspended in her seat only by her safety harnesses. She was rather glad she had put them on otherwise she would have been splattered against her screens. Slowly, the cockpit righted themselves and she let out a sigh as the pressure on her chest released. She held her head high as she unclipped the harnesses. She may be a captive, but she was a damn Imperial Princess. She would not allow them to see any weakness from her.

With a slight jerk, she was slid out of her cockpit mechanically. " **A pleasure to see you again, your Highness.** " She resisted the urge to cover her face as some light sun hit her eyes. Even she wasn't able to keep from wincing at the difference in lighting, but after a few blinks, she eyed the machine that had defeated her, " **As entrancing as ever.** "

"Zero." She greeted calmly, realizing that they were entirely alone. There wasn't another Knightmare in sight, which confused her more than a little bit. Where were the armed guards? The celebrating Black Knights? She raised an eyebrow, "So, is this where you mock me before putting a bullet in my skull?"

The man huffed, " **Please Cornelia. I would never do anything so pedestrian.** " She then allowed her jaw to lower slightly as the man's Knightmare kneeled and the cockpit opened. She eyed the man curiously – and a bit dumbly – as he stepped out of his machine seemingly without a concern for the weapon whose handle she was blatantly gripping. "You are a hard woman to reach."

She raised her eyebrow again before levelling her gunblade at him, "You have me at a loss." She confessed, "You don't seem the type to make a mistake as grievous as not checking me for a weapon."

"Or my entire ensemble is bulletproof." Zero shot back dryly.

She deadpanned, contemplating shooting the man to give his boast a try. Finally, her curiosity got the best of her, "What do you want, Zero?" She asked, strapping her weapon to her leg once more.

She got the feeling that the man was smiling, "My lady," He waved his hand and turned his head slightly to his right. She held back a curse as she realized he was directing her attention to a cave. What was wrong with her right now? How in the world had she missed something so obvious? "My only desire today… is to talk."

"Talk?" She asked coolly, "All of this… just to have a private conversation with me?"

"Why of course." Zero answered her, "You have answers to questions I seek and I have the same for the ones you seek." She got the feeling that he was smirking, "I could hardly just waltz into the Palace and request an audience, now could I?"

She bit back a snort at the thought of the chaos such a deed would have caused. She imagined Euphie would have been laughing her lungs out at the sight of those tepid bureaucrats running around like chicken with their heads cut off. "And if I refuse?"

"Oh, you are far too curious to do so." He said without skipping a beat, "I don't imagine you've discovered the answers to your questions."

"Hmph." She glared coolly at him, "So, you did send me on a wild goose chase. You knew I wouldn't find a thing."

"You wound me, my lady." Said the man looking very much unwounded, "The information I gave you was valid. If you found nothing then perhaps you were looking in the wrong places." His appearance did not change, though she got the feeling that he started sounding a bit smug, "Though I suppose you have a point. It isn't information one simply leaves lying around. Au contraire, I do suspect it is actively being hidden from you."

"Then how did you come across it?" She decided to test him, to see just what he would be willing to give up. She was well aware that he held all the cards right now. Even with them both outside of their machines currently, _his still functioned_. If this turned violent she was sure to be the loser. Especially if his attire were in fact bulletproof. Her outfit was made of such material so that wasn't out of the question. Unfortunately, he wore a helmet while she did not. In combat terms, that made her practically naked in comparison to him, should this dissolve into a firefight. "For that matter, why should I believe a word that comes out of your mouth? I'd also like to know just how did you end up with so many of the Lancelot's technologies. Not even I have access to those upgrades yet." Obvious information from her. How would he respond?

"Oh, my fair lady…" He chuckled in what seemed to be actual amusement. "Why would I ever lie when the truth would hurt _so much more._ " Her fist clenched at her side, "As for your questions… The same way I came across the information on Code R, of course." His tone turned a little dark, "I took it from Shinjuku."

Her eyes narrowed, "You had my brother Clovis download it for you. Before you killed him, that is."

"Indeed." He said airily, "Though the files he had on the Lancelot's schematics were outdated at best. I'm afraid Prince Clovis was more interested in his parties than he was in securing the Area. If he hadn't been such a lousy commander that he lost his entire force in an obvious trap, the Lancelot may never have seen the light of day." She was very thankful for her royal cool. Inwardly, she was burning in embarrassment for her deceased brother. Zero had been nothing but polite to her and her forces thus far. The outright mocking coming from him right now actually meant something, as strange as that sounded. "We captured an arm and a leg that day. More than enough to work off of for reverse engineering purposes."

She very carefully kept her expression blank. Why was he being so _free_ with that information? Was it his way of telling her that it didn't matter if she knew or not? That he had not only taken the technology but improved it? Created countermeasures? Created _better_ weaponry? Or was this a much darker message? Was he telling her that she would not survive long enough to get the word out? She bit the inside of her cheek lightly. She was completely at the disadvantage right now. Maybe if she stalled for time, someone would find their Knightmares, "I'm keeping my weapon." She said finally.

"By all means." Zero waved to the cave once more. At the very least, she would get the information she sought, wouldn't she? She walked side by side into the cave with him, not about to give him her back

 **-]|[-**

Suzaku snarled inside the Lancelot's cockpit as he watched Zero drive away with the Viceroy. He had promised Euphemia that her sister would return unharmed! He whipped out his VARIS and took aim, unleashing a powerful green beam at Zero's shoulder. If he could rip that arm off, then perhaps the Viceroy would be okay. He rather hoped she wouldn't be overly displeased about being rocked around inside her cockpit from the fall.

Only his plan never came to fruition. The red machine materialized in front of the shot and her claw reached out. A massive burst of energy shone dark red from her palm, and the VARIS' shot stopped dead in its tracks, "What!" he gasped, "She stopped my VARIS!"

"That won't work!" Kallen grinned victoriously, "If this had been the original Radiant Wave Surger Mark II, then you might have won today!" The green beam dissolved into nothingness and the red light stopped shining. Another cartridge ejected from her arm, "You'll need to hit harder than that if you want to beat my Mark III." She stuck her tongue out slyly.

"Damn it!" Suzaku cursed, " **GET OUT OF MY WAY!** " he roared at the red machine, charging forward and snapping out a spinning jump kick – what would come to be known as his signature move. Kallen dodged underneath it and when he landed he spun again, looking to sweep her off her feet.

Kallen lifted her foot up and smashed it down, crushing his first Sand Panel. He spun his remaining Sand Panel backwards and got out of her range, flinging the ruined machine at her. She dodged it and eyed him seriously. His machine was definitely as fast as hers. She charged forward and he stuck his leg out, looking to hammer his remaining heavy Sand Panel into her machine. She grabbed it with her claw and activated the Surger. Suzaku immediately detached the panel before that weird effect could start gripping his leg too, backing away in a hurry.

He grit his teeth, "The Lancelot is outmatched up close?!" He shook his head, "No, I refuse to lose!" He took his remaining MVS out again shot the VARIS. Kallen dodged around agilely, "She can't be as fast as the Lancelot! What the hell is that machine?!" He fired his hip Slash Harkens and watched as they were annihilated by that red light for his trouble. "Tch!"

The two then engaged in a dance, kicking and slicing at each other with their weapons. Kallen was the one to score first blood, firing a Slash Harken he didn't even know she had at him. His chest armor was scratched up and dented rather badly. He tried to slash the wire with his MVS but it just barely missed, the weapon retracting. He jumped over a kick and shot his wrist Harkens out, whipping them in a scissor-like motion in an attempt to cut off her unit's head.

He gaped as her knife started glowing red and she sliced the anchors apart, "What! The MVS?!"

His surprise was so great that he missed a block, taking a kick to the midsection. His armor groaned and he retaliated by activating his Blaze Luminous and forcing his Landspinners to scream as he drove forward, slamming her with it in a shield bash. "Damn!" Kallen cursed as she was forced to backpedal. "This asshole is good." She lifted her left arm up and started firing with the only long-range weapon she had. "Take this!" The first shot exploded off of Suzaku's Blaze Luminous, so she shot at the ground near its feet next. The Lancelot jumped up to avoid it and started trying to hammer her with VARIS beams.

Kallen's Landspinners were getting a heavy workout, so when a stray shot from the VARIS damaged her left one, her mobility was almost halved. It still worked, but nowhere near as well as it used to. "I'll win this and then go find Zero!" Suzaku yelled and charged forward, looking to slice into her with his MVS. If he could just keep the damn thing from moving, they'd be free and clear to go hunt for the Princess! Kallen's knife activated again, and the two blades clashed. "Oh no!" Suzaku gasped as he realized he had made a bad mistake. He had noticed that the enemy had kept deactivating her knife when it wasn't being used but had thought nothing of it. Now with them side-by-side he realized why. His MVS was a light red. Kallen's was a much deeper color, closer to blood red. Her MVS must have been a much bigger power hog than his because it was more _powerful_! That was why she kept turning it off! His fear proved correct. The knife sliced right through his sword and continued forward to gouge a deep cut into his arm.

"I have you now!" She yelled as that arm went completely unresponsive and fell limp by his side. She fired her Slash Harken again and had it deflected by a hastily activated Blaze Luminous. "I can do this all-day buddy!" She fired it again and started mixing shots in with her left arm. Suzaku was forced to keep the shield up which meant that he couldn't actually fire back. She had disabled all of his weapons except for his VARIS. And his shield was draining his power fast, and she damn well knew it too! He had to do _something_!

Gritting his teeth, Suzaku activated his shield to its max radius and charged forward, switching his VARIS to impact rail four for the last time that day. He would gamble it all on this last play!

"Fool!" Kallen yelled victoriously and charged head on, continuing to fire her arm cannon while prepping her Radiant Wave Surger. Just as they were about to meet, Suzaku turned off the Blaze Luminous and whipped the max-power VARIS forward. Kallen thrust her Surger at the weapon while firing her Slash Harken one last time. It cleaved through the Lancelot's right knee and effectively gave her the victory if she survived this shot. The VARIS fired and the shot impacted her Radiant Wave, which was blasting at max output. The shot trembled against the radiation which started spreading to the VARIS. The weapon started to crumple. But this time, the shot didn't get disintegrated. This time, the shot managed to match her best weapon.

A massive explosion erupted between them. Both machines were tossed backwards as a deep crater blasted itself into the earth from the deflected VARIS shot. Kallen screamed in pain as she was lifted up in her seat and slammed back down. They had moved a fair way away from their original spot and the Guren ended up tumbling over a cliff as it rolled. She was caught by a worried Ohgi, one of her Guren's legs continuing downward, "Kallen!" He screamed as he lowered them down gently. His Onryō looked pretty banged up from the fighting.

She groaned in pain as lights flashed all around her. The Radiant Wave Surger was disabled and if she could see it, she would have realized that the claw had been mangled. Green electricity crackled around it. She shakily hit the radio button, "Sound the retreat!" She said weakly, "We got what we came for. Zero will catch up." She answered before he could question her, "I'm…" her voice wavered, "going to pass out now."

"Kallen!" She didn't respond, "KALLEN!"

Up on the cliff, Suzaku didn't fare any better, smashing his face on the console. He blacked out immediately. The Lancelot smashed into the grit as already-damaged limbs flew from the main body. Its lights dimmed and it lay unmoving next to the smoking new hole in the mountainside. " _Suzaku!_ " Cécile yelled in panic, having been monitoring the boy in increasing worry during his battle, " _SUZAKU_!" The once proud and shining machine lay practically in tatters.

Neither side could really claim victory, because neither could finish the other. Their first battle ended in a draw.

 **-]|[-**

"This isn't quite how I imagined being captured would be like." Cornelia said cautiously, staring at the masked man who was sitting quite regally on a rock in front of her. The sight gave her a small amount of amusement. She remembered several of her siblings back home who could have used half of this man's poise. They were inside a fairly dark cave, with the only light coming from the mouth of the rock formation.

She couldn't see it, but she was quite sure Zero had popped a smile from the tone of his voice, "Captured?" He inclined his head to one side quizzically. She wasn't quite sure that he wasn't just mocking her. He chuckled lightly after a moment, "You misunderstand entirely Princess. This is just as I have stated; a conversation." His next words definitely had the lilt of someone smirking smugly, "Though if you would prefer the authentic experience, I'm sure we could get you trussed up in Shibari in a hurry."

Cornelia flushed angrily. She could almost envision him wagging his eyebrows, ' _What the hell is Shibari?_ ' She bit out in her head. Oh, she could get the gist of rope being involved, but that was a foreign word.

"Please sit." He waved his hand to one of the rocks and interrupted her angry woolgathering, "We can hardly talk if you're standing."

"What game are you playing?" She hissed, but did so anyway. She sat with the dignity taught to her as an Imperial Princess.

"Game? This isn't a game, Princess. I have questions for you, and I'm sure you have questions for me." Zero said lightly, "Once we're finished here, you will be free to go."

"…" She stared at his mask blankly, "I'm sorry?"

"Your ears work perfectly well." He sounded entirely too amused, "I have no intention of killing you. An actual reasonable Britannian Royal is such a rarity that I can hardly afford to just get rid of you. Your work with the Refrain trade has been inspiring." She floundered, completely out of her element. Was this man utterly _mad_?

"Wh-" Cornelia's eyes widened, "You would let such a valuable hostage go? I'm not a woman in the business of buying bridges."

"Valuable hostage?" The masked man snorted, "To whom exactly? We both know the Emperor won't lift a finger to help you. You're of no more worth or interest to him than any of his children. If I sent your broken body to him I doubt you'd even get a minute of attention past his grandstanding at your funeral." She stiffened, her eyes narrowing. That… that knowledge of her family was far beyond what she would have expected any high ranking Britannian to have, much less a Japanese terrorist. "But that is neither here nor there. As I said, I have never had any intention of harming you, Princess."

"Then why go to all this trouble?" She didn't look it, but she was honestly just bloody confused. Who the hell was this man and what was he planning?

"As I said…" She _knew_ he was smirking, "To talk." He uncrossed and recrossed his legs, "I'll even sweeten the pot. I'll allow you to ask first."

"Who are you?" She popped off immediately, "You know far too much about things you have no business knowing." She was quite aware that she was wasting her first question, but perhaps she could derive _something_ from his response. She wanted to get the man's measure. To see if he would let anything slip without meaning to.

"That…" Zero said silkily, "Is a wasted question I'm afraid. The time is not right for this face to be revealed." That statement in itself was telling. He intended for her to know at some point? And why tell her that? "As for how I know the many things I know… suffice it to say that Britannia's security is lacking." Well, that and he had an obvious backdoor in Euphie now.

' _You can say that all you like…_ ' She thought with narrowed eyes, ' _But your knowledge of_ me _speaks of some sort of familiarity. You_ knew _I wouldn't shoot you at Lake Kawaguchi, just as you knew that telling me you'd save Euphie would allow you to pass. That's not data you can just find on the net._ '

"But I suppose I can confirm something for you. An olive branch if you will." His tone sounded amused, "You have probably started wondering how I have such – let's say – _insider information_. Perhaps you're even wondering if I'm truly Japanese. That is indeed the correct line of thought. I am not."

' _What!_ ' She bit back a sharp inhale, ' _Why is he telling me that as if it is a fact that does not even matter to him? What's his angle? What does he want!?_ '

"Now, I suppose it is my turn." She focused back on him and gave him an indulgent nod, "I've taken the liberty of looking at your history. It's quite full of your many accomplishments, not the least of which being the formation of Areas Eight through Ten. You also managed to hold out in Brazil against overwhelming numbers and only lost a few of your battalion. You more than earned your title of Goddess of Victory."

She didn't know whether to be flattered or not, "Any particular reason you're trying to butter me up?" She muttered dryly, not sure how to handle the compliments.

Zero continued as if he hadn't heard her, "However, it was your one failure that interested me more than anything." Her eyes hardened and her fists clenched, "You were the head of Her Highness, Empress Marianne's guard at the time of her assassination."

' _Lady Marianne…_ ' Even now, the fury and anguish of that day still burned within her, "What does it matter to you?" She barely held back from snarling.

"It matters to me, Princess, because it does not fit your record." Zero said calmly, knowing the question had burned the magenta-haired woman, "You were the head of Empress Marianne's guard. You. The Britannian Goddess of Victory. Even back then, your name was starting to draw fear amongst the other countries. How is it that an assassination team managed to get past you and your guard? If there is a group for hire out there that can casually subvert the best Britannia has to offer and assassinate an _Empress_ , then it is in my interest to prepare should they take interest in my own affairs."

She breathed out through her nose, glaring at his mask for a moment, "They didn't avoid my guard."

Lelouch's eyes narrowed behind his mask, "Pardon?"

She clenched her fists, "They didn't avoid me and my guard… because there was no guard to avoid. Lady Marianne ordered me to pull back the night of her assassination."

Lelouch stilled. That… that was new information. His mother had ordered her guard away? What in the world was she thinking? ' _Did she know she would be killed that day? No, no, that's all wrong. She would have sent Nunnally and I away with Nelia if that were the case. Then…_ ' He barely held back from clenching his fist, ' _Then it_ _ **was**_ _someone she knew… someone she trusted. Someone who she didn't want anyone else to_ _ **see**_ _. She was betrayed._ ' That put less suspicion on Charles unfortunately. There would have been no reason for her to send Cornelia away if that were the case, "How interesting… A betrayal then."

"What?!" Cornelia stilled as she contemplated that theory, ' _Betrayal? But…'_ She didn't have more time to go down that rabbit hole, as Zero again spoke.

"You never considered the possibility?" He sounded surprised, "It actually seems quite clear now that I know that fact. Why else would she have sent you away? Clearly she was meeting someone she trusted but did not want anyone to see."

"Lady Marianne…" The old rage and hatred started to burn in her once more. Her beloved mentor and idol… the one she always had aspired to surpass or even fight side-by-side with… stabbed in the back. The desire to find those responsible and _crush_ them ignited once more into a raging inferno. It must have shown on her face, because Zero once again got her attention.

"Yes, it is certainly food for thought, isn't it Princess? But I digress. I thank you, your Highness. I do believe it is your turn."

Cornelia regained her composure and stared at his mask for a moment, "If you are not Japanese, then why fight for them?"

Lelouch smiled behind his mask, "Hoh, perhaps there is hope for you after all?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" She snapped back in confusion.

"You called them Japanese." Zero said simply, and Cornelia floundered. H-had she really? What? But she had no time to correct the statement, because Zero answered, "The problem with Britannia, your Highness, is not necessarily the overly Darwinist approach to the world. Not entirely at any rate. Maps are redrawn all the time, have been redrawn endlessly since the dawn of our time, and will continue to be redrawn until the twilight of civilization, so why should Britannia be vilified for it? No, the problem is what you do to the _people_. You strip away their homes, their land, and even their souls. You take everything from them and leave them with paltry scraps. You take proud people and render them as low as they can get, until they feel like less than dirt. Even then you taunt them with false promises of better futures." He leaned forward and his voice turned menacing, "An utterly _idiotic_ state of affairs. Rather than giving them a _reason_ to be loyal you give them every reason to utterly despise you. Every reason to rebel."

She snorted with bravado she didn't feel, "Loyal? You must be mad." But unease was bubbling within her. She had seen the people _eager_ to kill themselves if it meant one Britannian died in the Middle East. _Eager_ , not resigned! How many lost their lives even in areas that had already been pacified? Riots and rebellion had sprung up in practically every corner of their empire bar the homeland since Zero's introduction.

"Ah, but madness and brilliance are often a blurred line." Zero chuckled, "How many inventions of the past exist that were decried as mad and yet are in common use today? But I digress. The Japanese had every reason to throw me away, and yet they welcomed me with open arms. They began my healing with nothing wanted in return. As time went by and I witnessed the atrocities committed, I knew I had to act. And yet, not every Britannian was a power-mad monster. Not every Britannian treated the Japanese as if they were garbage. Not like your _brother_." She visibly snarled at the insult, but he continued unheeded, "And it made me realize who the true enemy was." He clenched his fist audibly and she twitched, I'm afraid you're incorrect, Princess. I _don't_ fight for the Japanese. Not exactly. No, just as you fight for your precious sister and those you love, so too do I fight for my family. This world is my home and there is a _parasite_ biting at its throat. And when dusk comes I'll show them that they bleed red just like the rest of us."

"You _are_ mad." The royal looked slightly shaken and had even scooched backwards on her rock a tiny amount.

Zero leaned back, "Perhaps. I suppose time will tell who writes the history books then." She swallowed and he let out a little chuckle, "But I do believe it is my turn again, no? So, Princess, just how satisfied are you with the state of your nation?"

Even Cornelia's iron self-control couldn't stop the laugh that started to bubble from her, "Is-Is _that_ your game?" She started to laugh harder, even clutching her stomach, "You want _me_ to join _you_."

"I fail to see what's so amusing." Lelouch was smiling behind his mask. It had been so long since he had heard his beautiful sister laugh, "And I can't help but notice you haven't answered the question."

"Very well then." She was still smiling, but had gotten her amusement under control. She answered professionally, "Britannia is the strongest empire in the history of the world, and I have done my part in building it to what it is today. My family rules over a third of the world, and we have brought advancements in every field at a staggering pace." She crossed her arms, "You're wasting your time if you think I would ever betray what I have helped create. I'll never join you."

"Never is such a _strong_ word." Zero said in sibilant tones, "Especially for people who know what we know."

She snorted, "Please, you overestimate yourself Zero."

"Or perhaps you underestimate me." He said simply, "So you would say you are satisfied then? There is nothing of your empire that you doubt? Of your nobility's policy to consume the weak because they are strong?"

"Those who fight have the right to rule." She answered calmly. She was parroting, she knew, but it sufficed as an answer.

Zero nodded multiple times, and Cornelia immediately knew that she was being mocked. She wouldn't have been surprised if his lips were pursed condescendingly, "How interesting." His voice turned practically arctic, "Then if your father – the _emperor_ – were to call you tomorrow to tell you that he had sold your precious sister's hand off to the Duke of Wellington, you would accept it without complaint?"

Two things happened to Cornelia at that point. First, she gagged and threw up a little in her throat. The Duke of Wellington was a disgusting, slovenly swine of a man as sweaty and smelly as he was corpulent. The last time she had seen him had been when she was seventeen. She had been propositioned by him. The pig knew not to touch her without permission, and yet she had still felt the need to scrub a layer of skin off in the bath. Which led to her next reaction; the wave of ice cascading down her spine. "You…" How could he possibly know that such a thing was one of her biggest fears? She was one of their greatest Generals. Even her father couldn't touch her like that. But Euphie? Even with the training Cornelia had made sure she received, Euphie didn't exactly have the loyalty of entire battalions. _How the_ _ **fuck**_ _did he know?_ Was there a traitor in her ranks, feeding him information?

"My, my, where has all of that surety vanished to?" His voice was silky and it made her grind her teeth, "A single question and all that self-assured composure is gone." He crossed his fingers on his lap, "But that was a rather directed attack towards your precious sister. Let's try something a little different, shall we? How about the exile of Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia?" She choked on her saliva, an instant black rage engulfing her, "Are you also in line with your father's policy of throwing out his children like yesterday's refuse? Or perhaps you enjoy the thought of sending two children as hostages to a nation you fully intend to invade?"

"You son of a bitch!" With that, all of her cool was shattered. She snapped up to her feet and whipped out her gunblade and pointed it at the center of his mask, her face a mask of fury. So great was her ferocity that the weapon shook in her grasp.

Zero did not move a muscle, the very picture of calm. "You look the very picture of someone sure in her empire, my dear." The sight of him sitting so calmly – as if she wasn't even a _threat_ – was almost too much. She was honestly tempted to take the shot and damn the consequences. But the thought of her wailing, heartbroken sister flashed in her mind. What kind of contingency plans did he have in place for him to be so _fucking_ calm?

With a roar of fury, she turned her hand away and shot at the walls of the cave. The sounds echoed in their ears as she panted lightly. Zero stared at her until she sat back down, glaring furiously at him. "I derive no pleasure from this, Princess." Zero said solemnly, "As I said, you're one of the good royals out there. The kind who wouldn't throw away their own family. The kind who wouldn't take money from a corrupt official and look the other way. The kind who wouldn't sit a thousand miles from a battlefield and order their men to their deaths." Her poise had returned, though it was marred by her angry sweat. Her hair had slipped from their perfect coils, "So I'll ask again; Are you satisfied with your nation as it is run by that man?"

Her eye twitched minutely. He sure was good at getting under her skin. She hated that damn expressionless mask. She couldn't read his face at all and she was utterly bare to him, "Very well then." She clenched her fists tightly, hidden by her crossed arms, "There are several of our policies I disagree with." She said tightly.

"Indeed." He nodded, this time respectfully. "And that is what I fight, Princess. Britannia has done as much good for the world as it has done bad. I would not destroy the progress or the people. What I seek to destroy is the cancer right at the throat." He smiled, "And one day you _will_ join me in that endeavor." He said it with such surety that Cornelia was momentarily dumbfounded. As if it were a fact that simply had not come to pass yet. "But that's a topic for another day. I believe it is your turn now."

Still unnerved and more than slightly miffed, Cornelia licked her lips, "Code R." She said finally, "You said that word to me back at Lake Kawaguchi. Since then, I have practically turned the Viceroy's palace upside down in my search for answers. The biggest lead I have found was a document so heavily doctored that I couldn't read more than twenty words on a single page. What was Code R and how did you discover it?"

He chuckled, "Discovered is a bit of a strong word too. Fell face-first into it would be a more apt description." She raised an eyebrow, obviously missing what was so amusing. "You see, everything has to do with that poison gas container I used during Kururugi's Court Martial Parade. It is the key."

"I see…" She didn't, "You already told me that the poison gas was a cover story. What did you mean by that?"

"There was never any poison gas." Zero said gravely, making her twitch and uncross her arms, "That container held something, but it was not a neurotoxin as the military was lead to believe. No, that container was a _prison_." The silence was so thick that they could hear individual droplets of water falling from the stalactites above them. "What your brother was doing was far more heinous than simply breaking the international ban on chemical weapons. That container was a prison for a young woman. Code R was his pet project, where he performed inhumane experiments on her as well as other… _disposables._ " The way he stressed that last word made his meaning perfectly clear.

"No…" She shook her head, "You're lying!" Desperation was starting to fill her. She had come to terms with the fact that Clovis had changed quite a bit. She had found the written orders in some of the few Knightmares that had survived Shinjuku. But this… this was beyond the pale. This was just utterly horrifying and disgusting, "Clovis would never-"

"Order a slaughter of innocent people to hide his mistakes?" Zero cut her off sharply, "I believe a few months ago, you would never have suspected him of that either." She flinched back as if she had been struck, "But you don't have to take my word for it, your Highness." He reached into his suit and pulled out a small, black flash drive. He tossed it over to her, and even as shaken as she was, it was still an easy catch. She looked down at the tiny drive in her hand, before redirecting her attention to him, "Before I killed him, I took information on the project. I pass that on to you now. Do with it as you will." He paused, "Though I do believe you will bury it, never to see the light of day again after you have gone over it. There are secrets in there not meant for public eyes."

She stared at it again for a moment, before pocketing it, "And the girl? What became of her? Why her in particular?"

Zero regarded her for a moment, and for some reason she felt as if she was being judged. Then he turned away, and stared at a pitch-black part of the cave. She turned as well, wondering what exactly he was staring at. Slowly, a green-haired woman came into view from the darkness. She had golden eyes and a lithe figure, and was holding her arms behind her back. She was wearing that same prisoner's outfit that he had first seen her in. She sashayed forward not unlike a predator, a sly smile gracing her lips. She had even put a slight roll to her hips as she strode forward, "Good day, your Highness." She curtsied mockingly, "I do hope our relationship will be better than the one I shared with your brother."

Cornelia's heckles raised slightly, and she glared, "So, you're the one." She looked the girl up and down, "You certainly don't look the part of a victim of human experimentation." She said flatly.

C.C. smiled in morbid amusement, "I never do."

Zero interrupted the two women, "This is C.C." He introduced the verdette, "She was the main subject for Code R."

Cornelia didn't take her eyes off of C.C., "Other than her eyes… she doesn't look like anything special. Why her?"

C.C.'s smile turned into a predatory smirk, "Because of _this._ " She hissed, and removed her hands from behind her back. In her right hand was a knife and it made Cornelia jerk to attention and watch her cautiously. Her hand rested on her gunblade, ready to draw it with the slightest hint of violence coming her way. She needn't have bothered. C.C. slashed the blade up to her own throat and Cornelia's eyes shot open in shock.

"What the hell are you do-!" The words died in Cornelia's throat and she jerked her feet back as C.C. sliced herself open as easily as she would cut open a letter. A small spurt of blood flew forward and landed where her feet had been a second before. Cornelia clapped a hand to her mouth and watched in first disgusted horror as blood trickled down her gaping neck and then in sheer disbelief as the wound rapidly closed before her very eyes.

C.C. wiped her now perfectly smooth throat of blood with a look of distaste. She accepted the proffered towel from Zero without a word, and cleaned herself off. She made a face again and turned, hacking and spitting up a wad of blood to the side, "Nasty." She turned back to Zero and told him imperiously, "You owe me a hundred pizzas."

Zero snorted fondly, "Oh please, I'd get you your pizzas even if you hadn't done that. Why not try picking an actual boon."

"One giant pizza then!"

"What the hell are you?!" Cornelia interrupted shrilly, "And why aren't you as shocked as I am!" She demanded of Zero, all her royal cool taken from her.

"I've seen it before, obviously. The very first time we met, she jumped in front of a bullet meant for me." Zero said as C.C. took a seat on the third stone which Cornelia had wondered about earlier. Cornelia jerked as she realized they had planned this from the start. After what he had claimed earlier, she really should have expected it. "You see, C.C. here is immortal. In those files I gave you, you will find photographs of her dating back a hundred years. There is a painting of her that is even older than that."

Cornelia took a deep breath and contemplated the consequences of that statement. Her normal reaction would be to decry it as utterly ridiculous. But seeing was believing, and that gaping throat was something that would probably haunt her in her dreams for some time. She came to a conclusion she didn't like, and her robotic tone more than showed it, "Clovis was trying to steal her gift. He wanted her immortality for himself."

"HA!" C.C. scoffed bitterly, " _Gift_. Oh to be an outsider looking in." She snarled. It immediately caught Lelouch's attention, "What a gift it is Princess. Just imagine it; your beautiful little sister old and gray and then turning to ash and leaving you forever behind. Your gallant knights dropping like flies… one by one. And no matter how much you wish to follow… you _can't_." Lelouch had heard her speak of it before, but never with such vehemence. Was she opening up or did reviving frazzle her more than she let on? "No Princess, this isn't a gift. It's a _curse._ " Cornelia was cringing back slightly, since she was well aware that if this woman wanted to bite her throat out there probably wasn't much she could do to stop it. And more than that, the thought of outliving her sister by possibly centuries sent a chill down her spine.

"Curse or not, Clovis didn't want to just steal it. He wanted to learn how to fabricate it. Picture it Princess, an immortal legion loyal only to him." Zero moved the conversation back on track and Cornelia recoiled. With how much of a failure he had been as a general and how incompetent his men had been before her arrival… That did not paint a pretty picture. She wouldn't be at all surprised if he ended up destroying the world just out of sheer incompetence. No one would have been able to stop him.

"Yes, he was quite a fool." C.C. smiled viciously, back to her witching ways, "I quite enjoyed taking my revenge on him."

Cornelia started and glared lightly at the woman, "Then you!"

"That's right. I did not take Clovis' life myself." Zero interjected, "After all, the wronged should be the one to issue the punishment. Isn't that right, Princess?"

They were silent for a moment as Cornelia took in all of the information she had been given, "How did you become immortal?"

"That…" C.C. scowled, which Lelouch took note of, "Is a long story I do not feel like telling. We are short on time anyway."

"I'm afraid C.C. is right, your Highness." He said apologetically before he stood, "It looks like we'll have to save some things for our next discussion."

"Next discussion?" Cornelia said in a forced-scornful tone, "What makes you think there will be a next discussion?"

"Oh please. Your bravado is wasted, Princess." C.C. snorted, "You're far too curious now to just let this go."

Zero sounded amused, "Indeed. I'm afraid you haven't even entered the rabbit hole quite yet, your Highness." Cornelia's jaw clenched. There was _more_ to this insanity? "But that's for another day. We both have a retreat to sound, after all."

Cornelia jerked as she realized that he was right. Her men had been leaderless for at least twenty minutes or so at this point. She could only hope Darlton had been able to rally them. And if Guilford was hurt there would be _hell_ to pay. "Very well." She hissed out a sigh as she stood.

Zero then shocked her by lightly grasping her hand. He brought it up to his mask and Cornelia idly realized that that was going to be the best approximation of a kiss to her knuckles that Zero could give. "Until our next meeting." With a flourish of his cloak, the two of them were gone, as if they had never been there.

Cornelia had the most dumbfounded look on her face, her hand still hanging limply in the air where it had touched his mask. Then her fist clenched and she ground her teeth together, "ZERO!"

 **-]|[-**

"Why am I riding bitch?" He asked playfully, hugging her from behind.

"Oh?" She rolled her hips while pressing back into him, "Are you saying you don't enjoy it?"

"Never." He chuckled and removed his mask. "C.C."

"Hmm?" She answered back noncommittally.

"I never thanked you before." Her eyes widened as he gently grasped her chin and turned her to face him, "You've made so much possible that would have taken me decades on my own. And more than that… you've become a trusted confident… and a trusted friend. So here is my contract with you. I _will_ end your curse. That's a promise."

She swallowed heavily and turned back, a blush marring her features. Her heart thudded in her chest, but her reply was emotionless, "You wouldn't say that if you knew what was involved."

He smiled and brought his hand up to her breast, and then moved a little above it. He could feel her heart beating a tattoo onto her chest, "I take it for myself, perhaps?" She stiffened to the point he had to check if she had turned to stone. He chuckled lightly, "You're awfully easy to read when you let your guard down, love. Not hard to guess once I had more information. Information you gave Cornelia free of charge. A curse needs a caster… doesn't it? Where is yours, I wonder?"

"Dead." She trembled, feeling laid bare and completely in shock at having been read so effortlessly, "And you would still promise it so easily? When you know it would mean Milly… Kallen… _Nunnally_!"

"Not the pain or the torture? You never speak of that when you speak of your curse. Your greatest fear is being left behind again… isn't it? Of being alone." Her heart stopped. She tried to speak but nothing came out. She wasn't ready for this! He smiled and she twitched when he nibbled a little on her ear. His voice sent a shiver down her spine, "In your long centuries of life, it appears you've forgotten a very basic fact…"

"T-that being?" She bit out as he pecked her lightly on the neck.

"There's more than one way to skin a cat." He surprised her by turning her head again and claiming her lips. For a moment, she did nothing, before her hand found purchase in his hair and she deepened the kiss. For a few moments more, they did nothing but enjoy the other, before they backed off. C.C. was again blushing and she looked away quickly. He smirked, "So how does it work?" She opened her mouth to answer but he continued, "Do I rip out V.V.'s beating heart and eat it?"

"Pffff!" She sputtered and started to laugh-cough.

"Or do we just find one of his contractors, transfer your curse away and fit them for a nice pair of concrete shoes for their dip in the Challenger Deep?"

"My, my, how vicious of you. You certainly have an imagination."

"One way or another, C.C." He said seriously, "One way or another, your curse will end."

"Cocky boya!" She snorted, forcing her composure to return, "I've been made promises before."

"None were me."

She sniffed in amusement once more, "Oh boya…" She said tenderly, "Don't lose that charm and that wit. You may actually steal my heart."

"Then may I know my fair lady's name?"

She smiled, but even now she hesitated. For a few moments, there was no sound other than the Raijin powering up, "Maybe someday." She said finally, "You're certainly the only one who has ever come close. Well… in the last couple hundred years, or so." She hesitated another second, "Before I became so bitter." She finished with a whisper.

"Then I'll just have to try harder, won't I?" He shot back before he clicked on his radio, "This is Zero. Report!"

"Zero!" Ohgi sounded quite relieved to hear from him, "Sir, I was told by Kallen to sound the retreat. She got knocked around quite badly. She was in a lot of pain, and the Guren is pretty badly damaged too!"

"What! Kallen lost?!" Lelouch held back a gasp and C.C.'s eyes widened in front of him. She set their Landspinners to max speed and made their way towards his compatriots.

"No, it was a tie I think." Ohgi responded, "But whatever they did to end the fight caused a massive explosion. There's a giant crater there now, and the Guren tumbled off a cliff."

"You did well Ohgi. We got everything we came for today." Lelouch told him as they broke through the trees and onto the main road. Ohgi activated their beacon as requested and C.C. followed it. Their surviving Onryō had already been packed up into their hidden trailer trucks which were already speeding away. C.C. put on a burst of speed to catch up to them and after a few minutes of travel, they saw the speeding trucks. A minute later, his Raijin was secured and he was stepping out of his cockpit.

"You have Cornelia then?" Ohgi's voice started brimming with excitement.

"I do not." Lelouch responded, preparing himself for the disappointment.

"She escaped?" Sure enough, Tamaki groaned, "We did all this for nothing then?!"

"Not quite." Lelouch rolled his eyes, "My goal was never to keep Cornelia as a prisoner." The room was deathly quiet as the Japanese stared at him wide-eyed with some – guess who – looking to be about to blow a gasket, "You can't treat Britannian royalty the way you would treat other high-profile targets. The emperor cares _nothing_ for his children. As a hostage she would be worthless."

"Even so!" Ohgi's voice got louder, "There are others who _would_! Equally high-profile people!"

"Like the Crown Prince perhaps?" Zero shot back, "You think he could overrule his father? You think even the _real_ Crown Prince Schneizel could do such? You know nothing of what goes on in that family, Ohgi. Almost every single one of those harridans would gladly sink a blade into Cornelia's ribs if it meant they could take her place as second Princess and Charles Zi Britannia would merely call her weak for it." The Japanese stared at him in stunned horror, "No, keeping Cornelia as a hostage would gain us nothing we can't win for ourselves. In fact, keeping her as the head of the opposition only benefits us. We've only had one victory at the moment. If we captured her or killed her, then Britannia would be _forced_ to issue a retaliation I am unsure we could weather at the moment. Or do you think a group barely at Platoon strength in terms of skilled pilots and combatants could handle an entire Field Army with Schneizel El Britannia at the helm?"

Ohgi clenched his fists, "That's…"

"Do NOT be discouraged here, my friends!" Zero raised one hand and clenched his fist, "The goal here was met, and surpassed! We have dealt a heavy blow to the Britannian forces! Even if their pilots manage to survive being buried in the rocks, their Knightmares will not!" His voice echoed, and the men around him started to cheer, "Yes, we suffered losses today. However, with this thunderous cry you have let Britannia know that even if they take away your names, your lives and your pride, they can never have your souls!" And this time the cheer was deafening. He held up his hand, signaling for silence, "But for now, we must focus on getting out of here. Where is Kallen?"

Ohgi responded, "Over here."

He motioned for Zero to follow, but the masked man turned around, "Aren't you going to come out, C.C.?"

The girl in question jumped from the cockpit too, making the Black Knights tense in shock, "Who the hell is she?!" Tamaki got in her face.

C.C. wrinkled her nose. Clearly this one had already started the celebration, if the smell of cheap booze was any indication, "I'm his mistress." She deadpanned, "Now out of my way, cretin. You smell like a cheap bar."

Zero let out a long-suffering sigh as Tamaki's jaw dropped. Even his eye was twitching as C.C. stepped around him, "This is C.C. and no, she is _not_ my mistress. You all may consider her my third in command." Now all of their jaws dropped, "Now, _how is Kallen?_ "

"We're monitoring her closely. She wasn't badly concussed, thankfully." Ohgi shook himself and led the two away. "Zero…" Ohgi spoke hesitantly once more, "I understand your reasons for letting her go, but if that was always the intention why did we even focus on capturing her at all? We could have had other objectives!"

"I wished to speak to her." Zero responded easily, "She had answers to questions I sought. And more importantly, I wished to probe her. Test her resolve. Seeds for the future have been planted." He smiled, "Tell me Ohgi… how do you make an empire fall?"

The man blinked and then stammered at the non-sequitur. "Uhh… destroy their armies and their people? Take their lands for your own?"

"Incorrect." Zero snorted harshly, "Or are you saying the Japanese are as dead as Japan is?" Ohgi flinched, "Ohgi, buildings can be burned. Crops destroyed. Armies routed. And none of that will destroy a people's belief in their nation. In the hearts of every Japanese flows the proud culture and belief in what Japan stood for. Simply killing the parasite that is Charles Zi Britannia will not end the problem. He has an endless hoard of smaller parasites eager to take his place. No… to truly defeat Britannia, a different approach must be taken. An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again." His voice turned sinister, "But one that crumbles from within? That's dead. Forever."

Ohgi choked on his saliva, "You-you can't mean what I think you mean, can you?! Zero that's crazy talk! It's impossible! She's one of their most loyal Generals!"

"It is merely one plan amongst many, and not a truly vital one." C.C. spoke up and replied for him, "A major victory and a damning morale destroyer for our enemies all in one. Imagine it! Their former Goddess's wings turning black." Now that put a small little smile on the man's face "But only time will tell if it bears fruit. We have knowledge of her that cannot be found on the net and unbeknownst to her, we also have some leverage." Ohgi's eyes widened in surprise, "Besides, you weren't in that cave. Lord Zero left her shaken and in doubt. Even got her to admit that there were things she was unhappy with. She's more vulnerable than anyone knows. Maybe even herself." She smiled like the cat that had gotten the canary as he turned to her, "With some of the things we know… you'd be surprised at just what impossible things aren't so impossible. Trust in Lord Zero. Is he not the man who has made the impossible possible many times before? Is he not the man of miracles?"

Ohgi took a hard breath before he nodded, "He is. I'm sorry for doubting you, Zero."

"Never be afraid to question me." Zero replied, "I am not omniscient. But remember Ohgi. I have plans within plans within plans and you won't always be privy to them." He stopped walking and turned to the man, "I trust I don't have to tell you to keep that extra bit of information closely hidden… do I?" Ohgi shook his head rapidly, "Good. I have been trying to ease you all in to the thought that not all Britannians are evil in anticipation of our order's possible expansion, but I doubt… let's say… Tamaki would take it well." Ohgi snorted in amusement. That was an understatement if he ever heard one, "Now… where is _Kallen?_ "

"Here!" He hurried to take them to the redhead. They both winced as they saw some of the bruises. She was unconscious and that frail look really did not belong on her face. "She should make a full recovery. Nothing broken, thankfully."

"Excellent." He breathed a sigh of relief, "Make sure she's comfortable. Above all else, making sure she's safe and there aren't any complications is our top priority. I'll be taking her once we're back near the settlement. I have more advanced medical facilities open to me. Now let's move, people!"

"Yes sir!"

 **-]|[-**

Cornelia walked out of the cave, a scowl still on her face as she shielded her eyes, "Damn it. I have more questions than answers now." She climbed up to her Gloucester and tried to start its systems. To her surprise, she actually got the screens to load. Had Zero replaced her energy filler? "This is Cornelia! Report!"

" _YOUR HIGHNESS!_ " That was Darlton's voice. She sighed in relief, knowing he was safe.

" _SISTER_!" And there was Euphie, looking beyond relieved. Guilford was already with her, though he looked a little banged up.

"Yes, I'm alright." Cornelia said, as the screens flipped to show all three of them; Euphie and Guilford together and Darlton still in his Gloucester. She had never seen her general look this frazzled. "What happened after I got knocked out?" She asked, and made sure to stare at Guilford hard and give a tiny shake of her head when he opened his mouth to say something.

His lips snapped shut and he stared at her imagine in surprise. Euphie was the one who spoke up, " _After we couldn't raise you, I was forced to take command, sister. I ordered a retreat. There was no sense wasting the lives of more of our men._ " Euphie trembled lightly.

"You did the right thing." Cornelia reassured her sister, "Had I been awake I would have done the same as well. My Gloucester is in no shape to move, much less fight. I'll need a pickup ASAP." She bowed her head slightly, "We lost this one… as much as I hate to say it."

" _We've already launched a VTOL._ " Euphie told her, " _ETA is two minutes to your beacon. As for our enemies_ … _the JLF apparently agreed that this fight was over. They've fled the scene as well. Evidently, they decided getting their leadership out of here was more important than trying to pick the rest of us off. They hammered our defense line and managed to break through. As for the Black Knights… we decided discretion was the better part of valor._ "

Darlton growled, " _Our forces are not in good shape, your Highness. Those new machines the Black Knights used were comparable with standard issue Gloucesters. We were forced to let them go. Further fighting would have just cost us more men._ "

Cornelia released a sigh, "Casualties?" She always dreaded this part of every battle.

Guilford did not look happy, " _The landslide wiped out over seventy percent of our forces. We confirmed that a few of our men were able to eject prior to being hit, but a good majority were not._ _It is our hope that we might be able to dig some of them out. The Knightmares will definitely be out of commission but some of the men might still be alive if they managed to get to their emergency oxygen._ " He hesitated for a moment, " _My Gloucester was destroyed and the Purebloods were annihilated. Jeremiah is MIA and Villetta managed to get out, though she is quite shaken. Our worst casualty… was the Lancelot._ "

" _And our eardrums._ " Euphie mumbled, " _I swear, I heard Lloyd's scream from here._ "

"Damn." Cornelia mumbled, "Then that red machine defeated him?"

" _From what we learned from Major Cécile Croomy, he defeated the ones who we suspect were the Four Holy Swords and Tōdō with frightening ease, but he met his match against that red machine._ " Darlton confirmed, " _It had a more powerful MVS and was able to destroy both of Kururugi's swords as well as his four Slash Harkens. The battle ended with it somehow deflecting a max-power shot from the VARIS. The resulting explosion almost ripped the Lancelot apart, so we don't imagine the red one fared any better._ "

"A draw then." Cornelia rubbed her chin, "That's a better result than I had hoped, from your tones. Have the Lancelot and Kururugi been recovered?"

" _Yes, they have._ " Euphie said, " _The Black Knights all started retreating after we confirmed Warrant Officer Kururugi's unconsciousness. Either they got what they came for or they wanted to ensure the pilot of the red machine was alright._ "

"I suspect it might be the latter." Cornelia said, her ears perking up at the sound of the VTOL closing in on her location, "They both had better machines than we did, but she was definitely the more-skilled pilot of the two." She shook her head, "Enough. We all have work to do. We need to get as many of our men out of the mud as we can, and we need to make sure there were no civilian casualties." She closed her eyes in exhaustion for a moment, before wearily looking back, "My EVAC is here. I'll see you all soon. Cornelia out."

 **-]|[-**

A banged-up looking trailer was speeding down the road. Packing up the Code R experiments had been time consuming and they almost hadn't made it out. They weren't entirely sure those who decided to stay behind and get the rest of it out had actually made it out. "Damn it all. I can't believe Cornelia came after the JLF this soon. It'll take weeks to get everything set up properly again." The person in the passenger's seat ground out.

Suddenly, the driver slammed on the breaks and the entire trailer jerked is it screeched to a stop. "Another fucking soldier?" He snarled as he slammed on the horn, "We must have been wiped out. This is the fifth one we've seen."

The blue haired man was leaning on a sturdy looking stick, and was struggling to walk at all. He was clutching his left eye and groaning, "I swear… I'm not orange!" He moaned, his one visible eye trembling in its socket. "ZEROOOOOOO!"

He collapsed in front of the truck. One of the scientists groaned, "Just get out and grab him. He looks relatively intact. He'd make a fine specimen."

"Yes sir."

 **-]|[-**

 **Hoo boy, did you guys enjoy?**

 **The Raijin's plasma/lightning whips are directly based off of Crimson Dynamo/Ivan Vanko from Iron Man 2. I LOVED those things. I'm unsure at the moment if they'll follow through every Ace Knightmare Lelouch uses, but I HAD to use them at least once.**

 **Can anyone think of a better chapter title? A lot of the ones I thought would fit were quotes and way too long, lol**


	9. Turn 09 - Of Mice and Men

**Well, isn't this something?**

 **How is everyone doing? I'd like to thank everyone who has been patiently waiting for this update and apologize for taking way longer than expected with it. Sadly, I AM having a fair bit of trouble with the next chapter for this one and I'm not sure when I'm going to work all of that out.**

 **For those of you waiting for the next Supernova chapter: It is also coming. As I stated when I first posted the last chapter, it is already done. Why have I held on to it for so long? I'm actually doing some rewrites of the earlier (probably the first four) chapters and I want to post everything together. There is at least one change, particularly in chapter one, that will have a bigger impact further down the line. What change is it? Well, you'll find out. Everything will be posted when I'm happy with it. Suffice to say, in the earliest chapters I was too afraid to take bigger risks and I am no longer happy with that fact.**

 **Also, if you are fans of Type Moon, you can expect to see at least one story there at some point. Most likely a Fate Grand Order based one, though with a Fate/Stay Night twist. And I still have to post that Pokémon fic at some point. Fuck me, I just can't keep my ideas focused on one fandom, can I?**

 **-]|[-**

 **Turn 09 – Of Mice and Men**

 **-]|[-**

"He beat Cornelia." The most powerful man in the world was doing something he was very much unaccustomed to doing; gaping at a report in disbelief.

"That's my boy!" The very young lady with pink hair and fairly revealing clothes crowed for the fifth time that night. Her eyes were ringed with the red of Geass as she pirouetted in the Emperor's bedroom.

Charles zi Britannia sighed, "We've been over this Marianne. We don't know that this Zero is Lelouch."

"Oh please Charlie." The girl – who was far too young to have had any child much less one old enough to fit into Zero's outfit – scoffed, "A mother knows these things."

"Must you call me that, dear?" Charles sighed in exasperation. Why did the only one of his hundred-and-eight wives that he actually loved have to be so frustratingly annoying at times?

"Of course. Can't have you getting too haughty!" She chirped cheerfully, "Zero is so clearly Lelouch that I'm amazed no one has caught on yet. Who else but your son would dress up in that flamboyant outfit?"

Charles raised an eyebrow, "What exactly are you implying, you cheeky minx?"

Marianne giggled, "Oh, nothing at all love."

He shook his head, "Regardless, you're going to have to give me a bit more than that if you want to convince me."

Marianne huffed, "Just accept my intuition already!" She pointed imperiously at the older man. He just stared dryly at her, "Oh fine." She huffed, "First, he's clearly a genius. Against Clovis it was expected, but he's one for one with _Cornelia_! And in his first real battle too! The only way I could be more impressed was if he beat Schnizzy!" Her husband bit back a grin, "Second, he's ruthless. He dumped a goddamn mountain on Nellie!"

"That he did." Charles rumbled in good humor.

"Third; the outfit! Look at the helmet specifically! It's modelled after the King from Lelouch's first chess set!"

"You're grasping at straws there, my dear. That set is sought-after the world over and everyone know what it looks like." He retorted dryly.

Marianne bit back an infuriated scream, "Whatever! I'm right and you're wrong! End of story!"

He chuckled in amusement, "Regardless, I know that you're probably right. But assuming things and being wrong will make us look like fools."

She huffed, "We'd know already if you'd just go talk to Clovis."

"I told you." He deadpanned, "Clovis was barely recognizable in C's World. I can't even get him to stop screaming long enough to get a word in. Even his soul is brain dead now."

Marianne winced, "Right. Forgot about that. Why the hell did C.C. Mind Crush him? I knew she could do it, but she told me she hadn't done it in centuries!" Charles stayed suspiciously silent. Her eyes narrowed, "Charles… what did you do?"

"Nothing!" Her husband said, perhaps a little too quickly.

"Charles!" Marianne stamped her foot.

"I did nothing!" Charles said adamantly, "Brother was the one who did it!"

"hgjlk!" Marianne screeched unintelligibly, "What did that little hobgoblin do to C.C.? Wasn't _killing me_ enough?!"

Charles once would have defended his brother. Those days were _long_ past, "He may or may not have supplied Clovis with blueprints of a method of trapping her, as well as giving him her location and an idea of what she could do." Marianne stared dumbfounded at him. "Clovis may or may not have then spent several years trying to rip a Geass or her Code out of her." He suppressed a deep groan when he saw her eye twitch. That specific tell of hers was _not_ good.

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU HAVE HER RELEASED IF YOU KNEW!" She bellowed at her husband.

That was one of the things he loved about her. She had absolutely no fear in regard to speaking her mind. Even against him. "I figured keeping her in one place until we were ready to initiate Ragnarӧk was necessary."

"She was an ally Charles!" Marianne bit out furiously, "And she was my friend!"

"And she was as mercurial as they come." He shot back, "What guarantee did we have that she would come back when we were ready?"

"Oh right!" Marianne snarled furiously, "Because having her as a fucking enemy is so much better!" She threw her arms up in the air.

He slumped, "No, it isn't." He ran a hand down his face, "Another concern I had was that she might actually _succeed_ in transferring her Code to someone. It would have been just our luck to have her finally get what she wanted right as we were on the cusp of victory."

"Great job!" She said sarcastically, "This changes things. I was wondering why she refused to speak to me."

"It's… a bit worse than _that_ actually." Charles winced. She turned a questioning gaze to him, "I felt more convergences with the Ragnarӧk Connection."

She paled, "Oh no…" She covered her mouth with a hand, before dropping it, "Charles, I think this might have been the biggest fuckup your brother could have made, and you certainly didn't help by not slapping that midget down when you found out! C.C. must be _furious_ if she's giving Geass out while she's actually invested in a single contractor. What the _fuck_ did Clovis do to her?! I never thought she could even _get_ this angry!" Marianne waved her arms in the air in worry, "Even when I tripped and knocked over her Meat Lover's pizza she was just catty for a few days!"

"I don't know what Clovis did." He sighed in defeat. "But clearly he must have gone too far."

"How many?" She whispered, half-fearing the answer.

"Four so far, not counting the initial one." He clenched his fists, "Two in one night a few weeks ago."

Her eyes bugged out, "FIVE?!" She bit her lip, "I don't think we can afford to take it easy on this Zero. We can't afford to lose Kamine Island."

He snorted, "What's this? I thought you said Zero was Lelouch?"

"An enemy is an enemy." Lelouch's mother said carelessly, "If he gets in our way then he won't get special treatment. I would prefer that he join us of course, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't. We'll all be together once Ragnarӧk is complete, after all."

He smiled approvingly, "Good. I have no plans on taking it easy on him."

She smirked in amusement, "You going to spank Cornelia then?"

"Oh yes. My son he might be, but she's also my daughter. Failure is unacceptable. Especially for the _Goddess of Victory_." He rumbled.

"One of them had to." She smiled as she pointed out the flaw in that argument, "And she was caught pretty flat footed after all. Did I mention the _mountain_ he dropped on her?" She giggled, making him shake his head, "Don't be too hard on her dear. I quite like Nellie. She's a good _little girl._ " She then yawned, "Anyway, I'm going to bed. Poor little Anya here needs her rest."

"See you soon." Charles clenched his fist as the girl left the room. How he longed to have the _real_ Marianne in his arms once more. His brotherwould pay.

 **-]|[-**

"The Japan Liberation Front was nearly wiped out by your Narita operation, Viceroy."

Yet another of Clovis' flunkies. And unlike the others, he had actually been doing a fairly decent job up to this point with no cause for dismissal. Joy. "If you are quite finished?" She said irritably, "That operation was a disaster. Hundreds of our Knightmares were destroyed and the JLF escaped."

He bowed, "Escaped yes, but they are now running scared." He said calmly, "They are nowhere near as cohesive as they were days ago, and days ago they were even less cohesive than they had been since before the Lake Kawaguchi disaster."

The next person to speak up was a woman – one brought over by Cornelia herself. Vera Callahan was a… _tolerable_ bureaucrat. "Indeed. It is quite clear that the Japan Liberation Front spent so much time, effort and money on that mountain fortress that they are feeling rather lost without it." She flipped through a stack of papers, "While they managed to escape, our net is closing on them by the day. In the past two days we've heard tell of mass desertions. The morale of the Eleven population – or more specifically, their opinions of the JLF – is down. Only their best aces have Knightmares now, and even Tōdō and his – ahem – Four Holy Swords-" Here she smirked, clearly showing exactly what she thought of their little group, "Can't hope to fight against our full might on their own. The clock is ticking for the JLF. Soon the leadership will no longer have subordinates to acquire necessities and they will have to come out into the open themselves. Once that happens, we'll be able to take the rest of them out in one fell swoop."

"All the same." Cornelia eyed them seriously, "We did not walk out of that battle unscathed. We're only barely pulling our forces together after that fiasco, so calling it a success seems inaccurate. What little of our forces managed to survive are busy scouring that landslide for survivors and corpses."

Guilford spoke up, "I believe that our occupation policy for this Area has been flawed from the start." He took command of the projectors and put up maps of the country, "Why have we consistently ignored Area Eleven's subways and mining railways? In the ghettos, there are hundreds of falsified property deeds! Rebellion has been allowed to grow unchecked here!"

"My lord, I mean no disrespect-" Cameron Richardson – one of their own appointees – began saying, "But filling in the tunnels is a fool's errand. There are _hundreds_ of miles of tunnels. We can clearly see this on the map you've brought up. It would take us years to fill them all and that's assuming they haven't just dug more in secret. With how they've transformed entire mountains into fortresses, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they have. And that's all without even considering the fact that such an endeavor would drain our coffers past their limits."

"They have been using them as escape routes as well as strike bases!" Guilford's voice rose in volume in his anger. Cornelia sighed internally. Guildford had been beating this particular drum for weeks, and even she wasn't convinced he was in the right. Not only that, but raising his voice wasn't earning his side any points.

"And they will continue to use them, my lord." Richardson said flatly, "The best we could do is seal up the ones in the Settlement. But that would put _us_ at a disadvantage as well. We have used them for quick transport of materials as well as secret troop deployments ourselves. I believe we should focus on mapping and bugging them, not closing them. That way, we could turn their routes against them."

"It's a start, I suppose." Cornelia told him, eager to move on from this particular topic.

Darlton's deep baritone was the next to draw their attention, "Vice-Minister. Internal Affairs has appointed a special group of the Elevens to self-govern this area, isn't that right? A group who are called the NAC."

"Yes, as is our empire's policy." Richardson nodded respectfully.

"We looked for evidence of the NAC's conspiracies when we stormed Narita. Unfortunately, it was buried in the landslide. Still our suspicions remain high. If we suppress them now..."

Cornelia snorted. Long had she disagreed with _that_ particular policy, "A group of bluebloods and plutocrats. An unwelcome relic from the past at this point."

"Your Highness." Callahan spoke up, "I would strongly recommend against acting against them." She crossed her arms in irritation, "It would certainly be an excellent move militarily, but it could also backfire right in our faces. The general populace has never condoned terrorism and the majority of them have refused to join any of the resistance outfits. If we remove the NAC on nothing but hearsay and suspicion, we could drive them right into Zero's arms." She pushed her glasses up, "Furthermore, the economy would collapse, which would just increase discontent, even among our people. And that's not even considering the possibility of the NAC planting contingencies in the case of their capture. We could rid ourselves of the rebellion's backers and in the same swoop, have _their_ constituents do something suicidal such as detonating explosives in the mines."

Cornelia wrinkled her nose, "Even at this range, such a blast would wipe us out."

Euphemia spoke for the first time, "Then it's clear that we have a few important priorities." She said softly, "First and foremost being the rebuilding of our forces." She pointed out and changed the screens to some of the battle footage, "These Knightmares that the Black Knights brought into play are only just barely inferior to our Gloucesters. How are we going to give them the edge again?" Half the room was staring dumbly at the pink-haired young woman while Cornelia was starting to gain a proud glint in her eyes. While Cornelia had made sure to train Euphemia herself, she was not known for speaking too often. "Furthermore, we must ensure that the Sakuradite mines are _not_ booby-trapped. Until we know that for sure, I could not in good conscience put our people at risk."

"I am going to have a meeting after we finish here to take care of that first concern." Cornelia stated, "As for the second…" She stared at the minsters, "You heard the sub-Viceroy. I want the mines inspected on the double. Claim that we want to make sure all safety standards are in play if you need to."

"Yes, your Highness!"

"Then you are dismissed. Guilford, Darlton. With me."

 **-]|[-**

"Your highness!" Cécile gasped as the Princess walked into the Camelot trailer with her two Knights flanking her. She smacked the lavender haired man who hadn't even acknowledged the woman and forced him to attention, "Lloyd!" She hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

"Well hello there, your Highness!" Lloyd said cheerily, utterly unconcerned with decorum, "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

"Asplund." Cornelia replied dryly. Such was Asplund's reputation as an eclectic genius that she didn't even bother smacking him down for his lack of respect. She doubted any punishment she could mete out would actually stick, and they needed his genius more than she needed to have her boots licked. It simply wasn't worth the effort. She gave a more respectful nod to Cécile, "Major Croomy."

"What can we do for you, your Highness?" Cécile asked respectfully.

She eyed the two of them seriously, "In the beginning, I had my doubts about your Lancelot." Lloyd's grin got just a little wider, "However, Narita has changed things. Your machine was one of the best-performing amongst our soldiers. Even-" She hesitated for the barest of moments, "with an Eleven as a pilot."

"Kururugi has been trying his hardest, your Highness." Cécile replied carefully.

"Indeed. My Knight Darlton has always claimed that skill should trump a person's nationality. For the first time, I am starting to agree with him. Kururugi has proven his skill. I've seen all of the footage we've been able to recover of the battle. He was the only one who managed to even give that red machine a fight." And didn't that statement burn Cornelia to admit? Cécile had to hold back a happy smile. Cornelia saw the woman's struggle to contain herself and allowed the corners of her lips to wiggle upwards before she went back to cool calm, "The question now is… is it Kururugi or your Lancelot that gave him those results?"

"Both!" Lloyd said cheerily, "Despite never having piloted a Knightmare, Kururugi scored a 94 percent synchronization rate on his first deployment. Quite obviously, his score has only gone up. He's the only pilot we have even considered after… the incident." A maniac look took his eyes.

At Cornelia's questioning look, Cécile squirmed a little before answering, "Before we found Kururugi, a mid-level knight was our test pilot. She… well, she crashed the Lancelot into a rail at barely thirty-percent output. And then she somehow managed to flip the entire machine over and smash it into a truck. One of the legs was mangled and the cockpit was dented, so it set production behind by about three months."

"Hoh, and this young man had that kind of success on his first ever deployment? I saw the tape of that day. He must be a rare talent." Darlton smirked in satisfaction, "Quite a pity he was not born Britannian. Perhaps he could have been serving as a Knight by now had he not needed to fight discrimination for his entire career."

Cornelia refocused on the purpose of her visit before things could devolve further, "Right, I'll cut to the chase." She said and stared hard at both of the scientists, "How long would it take and how much would it cost to have some more Lancelot models made for our forces?"

For the first time, Lloyd's smile dipped, "Ehhh… now that's a bit of a sticky one, your Highness."

Cécile winced, "I'm afraid it's too high spec a machine to ever put into mass production. As I mentioned, a mid-level Knight got barely thirty percent output and her synchronization rate was a mere twenty-nine. She had been a second-wave Sutherland pilot back when we were phasing out the Glasgows. Even if we had the funds to do so, anyone other than a high-level Knight like yourselves would probably just run it into a wall repeatedly."

"I expected as much." Cornelia frowned. It was an annoying answer, but one she had prepared for. "Then a unit for myself and my Knights?"

Cécile hesitated momentarily, "Princess, every single part of the Lancelot is custom-made; and we have no Knightmare factories capable of producing components of that quality here in Area Eleven. We can barely replace our Gloucesters as it is without ordering parts from the Mainland. Prince Clovis never ordered a high-tech facility constructed."

Lloyd started mumbling angrily to himself, "It has been more than a little irritating your Highness. We still don't have our Lancelot even close to mission ready. That fight with the red Knightmare demolished all of its Slash Harkens, both Maser Vibration Swords, and severely damaged the VARIS rifle. The explosion that ended the fight blew all of my precious Lancelot's limbs off!"

"It's going to take at least a week and half optimistically, if not two weeks period to even get the first Lancelot operational." Cécile was frowning as she remembered exactly how bad off their pride and joy was currently, "Especially with how low our funds are." She shot Lloyd a dirty look. The man had blown almost everything on the Lancelot itself.

"Money is not an issue." Cornelia nipped that thread in the bud, "I will be taking over your funding from now on. This seventh generation is clearly not a waste of time like the sixth was. My Gloucester was the best Knightmare we had bar the Lancelot and it was practically toyed with."

Lloyd and Cécile's faces lit up, "Now that puts us in an entirely different situation." Lloyd mused, "Of course, that still leaves the issue of how high-quality the components are and our lack of production facilities. We do have spare parts from older versions of the Lancelot saved up. I _could_ have a Knightmare better than your Gloucester up and running by the time the original is fixed, but it wouldn't be a _Lancelot._ "

"And if I may be honest, your Highness…" Cécile hedged, "I'm not even sure we should focus on limited production at all. Our Lancelot _lost_ against that red machine. We can claim it was a tie all we like, but I think that if the shot had deflected in any other direction our White Knight would have been nothing but scrap."

"I confess myself… disappointed." Cornelia narrowed her eyes. "Come!" All of them were quick to follow, and they settled into a table, "Explain what you have in mind, Major Croomy."

"Yes, your Highness." Cécile nodded seriously, "Frankly, that battle worried the both of us in more ways than one. While we had never seen either machine before, we _did_ recognize some of the technology used."

"I am aware." Cornelia replied dryly.

"The red Knightmare used your MVS." Guilford had his arms crossed in front of him, wearing a frown.

"And if I'm not mistaken, the black and gold one used the VARIS." Darlton finished he thought, his eyes narrowed.

"That's right, that's right!" Lloyd said cheerfully, before he almost visibly became possessed by a demonic aura, "My precious inventions, in the hands of our enemies. Hehehehe!"

"Is he quite alright?" Cornelia very subtly backed away from the unhinged man.

Cécile did not take her eyes off the Princess while she whacked her partner on the head, "Please ignore him, your Highness."

Lloyd shook himself, "Regardless… that unfortunately _wasn't_ what we were referring to." He pouted at having been wrong.

Cécile sighed, "The claw of the red machine… that was a Radiant Wave Surger…"

Cornelia raised an eyebrow, "Is that supposed to mean anything to me?"

"It means!" Lloyd giggled almost psychotically, looking a little unhinged, "That Rakshata Chawla is on their side."

"She was a classmate of ours… and she was every bit as brilliant as Lloyd." Cécile told the Royal, who bit back a grimace. It would not do for her to show worry in front of her subordinates, "Had that machine only used the Surger, we wouldn't have been so worried. But neither the MVS nor the VARIS were stolen from the Lancelot during its debut. Neither of the weapons were ready at that time, nor were they finished in the blueprints that Zero could have stolen from Prince Clovis. That means that they finished both weapons in about the same time frame as we did, AND they came up with some new technology on top of it. Rakshata never expressed interest in plasma-based technology like those whips, but she certainly would be capable of finishing the MVS and the VARIS. So not only do they almost certainly have Rakshata on their side, but someone in their camp has some pretty deadly ideas, if nowhere near as _innovative_ as ours."

"And more importantly…" Lloyd broke character, looking serious for the first time, "The means to produce them in quick order. Those mass production frames were brand new. They may not have exactly matched our Gloucesters, but they came close, and they were out in force. There is no way whatsoever they could have had machines like that shipped to Area Eleven without us having at least some inkling that it was happening. One or two machines – such as the Seventh-Generation ones – could have been snuck into the country in secrecy. But a whole platoon's worth when we can't easily replace our own Gloucesters on site and have to have them shipped instead? Without anyone noticing?" He shook his head, "No, they _have_ to have a factory of some kind."

Cornelia crossed her arms, "While I did not know of this Rakshata, I had come to that conclusion myself." She was frowning heavily, "What do you plan to do to widen the gap once more?"

"A new budget will help, so you have our thanks." Lloyd went back to cheery.

Guilford spoke up, "The MVS especially and the VARIS… are they as time consuming and prohibitively demanding as the Lancelot proper to produce?"

Cécile smiled as they finally had some good news to give to the Princess, "We're happy to say that…no, they are not. Or at least the MVS are not." She had a clipboard and made a note, "We can have all three of your frames equipped with the blades within a few days at most, though we will need to upgrade your energy fillers as well as modify some parts of the machines themselves for them to be able to handle either them. The rest of our forces could see limited release as well, though I hesitate to even consider doing so for the Sutherlands. While the modifications would not be difficult to make provided we have the resources, they will be time consuming and the costs will start to climb. It would probably be smart to keep them to the Gloucesters once the shipments come in. Perhaps even just to the Knights you personally select. The Sutherlands are rapidly going to become obsolete if we truly are about to enter an arms race with the Black Knights."

"Now that's what I like to hear." Cornelia nodded approvingly, smiling for the first time, "And the VARIS?"

"That'll be harder." Lloyd admitted, "As with the MVS, we can have your units equipped relative soon. Your machines WILL be down for at least a week if we do so. However, they're far more expensive and technical compared to the MVS. We don't think it would be cost effective to equip the mass production Knightmares."

"Alright…" She allowed, "And now for the most important part." She leaned forward with her fingers clasped in front of her face, "What can we do about improving our Knightmares. MVS and VARIS aside, we simply aren't fast enough to keep up with those two machines. Not to mention those new mass production models of theirs come very close to matching our Gloucesters. Our only saving grace was that they do not outperform them. We have lost the technologic advantage."

"Unfortunately, that's not a problem that can be solved easily." Lloyd shook his head, "The only way to regain that edge amongst our forces is to deploy a new mass production model with higher specifications. But that's not something we can just click our fingers and do." He shrugged sheepishly, "Assuming we use my Lancelot as the model for the Generation Seven mass production unit, it would possibly take months to turn it into something an average Knight could use in battle. Quite obviously there would need to be an extensive number of downgrades made for the less talented of the crop to even use them."

"Let's shelve that discussion for the moment." Cornelia commanded evenly, "While equipping our regular soldiers with better Knightmares will no doubt become important, it is not a priority now. An army of generation seven mass produced units likely wouldn't even be able to scratch the paint on those two command units, and I doubt they will be sitting on their laurels either. If push comes to shove, we can phase out the Sutherlands entirely for Gloucesters. No, we need to focus on command units for ourselves."

Cécile nodded in understanding, "As we said, we can make you a new Knightmare your Highness, but it won't be _quite_ as good as the original Lancelot. At least at first." Cécile felt helpless in this situation, which she did not appreciate. "We could upgrade it to full potential as new parts arrive of course…"

"Alternatively," Lloyd said cheerily, "We can rip your Gloucester apart and use it as a base for an entirely new Knightmare. That would shave some time off the process, though I don't believe it would be quite as good as it could be if we started from scratch. We would still be using the spares from the older Lancelot, but it'll be far more powerful than your old Gloucester."

"It's a start." Cornelia sighed. "You have my permission to proceed. Make sure you make use of my Gloucester's head in some fashion. It was upgraded for easier command." She had not gotten what she wanted out of this meeting. She contemplated demanding the original Lancelot turned over to her for her use but passed on that thought. Kururugi was performing very well in it, and frankly they might need that edge. "So, what will you do with your higher budget then?"

"Continue pushing the limit." Lloyd said immediately, "With the last engagement ending a tie, I have little doubt that the next time we see those Knightmares they'll be even stronger. That was their _debut_. No doubt they had kinks to work over."

"Lloyd is right." Cécile sighed as she admitted that, "We can focus on making the Lancelot more powerful to match that red one. I don't think the black one could defeat it even as it was during the operation. The red one is really the one to worry about. They were obviously the more skilled pilot between the two of them."

"Tell me about it." Guilford mumbled to himself, still smarting over his defeat.

"Very well. It wasn't what I was hoping for, but it appears that time is our enemy." She stood, "I'm giving you two a blank check to have a Production Facility built here in Area Eleven. You will work closely with my Knights as well as myself and the best designers of the Empire to make this happen. This Area is far too much of a hotbed to rely on deliveries from other Areas and the Homeland. It's far past time to have one built." She glared at the lavender-haired man as his face lit up in glee. "Understand this Asplund. This may be a blank check, but I expect my money to not be wasted. If you're going to be spending my money on something I expect exquisite detail in your reports explaining why exactly I need it. Is that clear?"

"Yes, your Highness!" All four of them saluted.

"Then get to work. I want this facility built on the double. If you have any requests for architects and engineers from the homeland, I expect their names on my desk by tonight." She turned and walked away, "Good day."

 **-]|[-**

"Eurgh!" Kallen awoke with a groan, "Anyone get the plate number on that building?"

She heard deep chuckling to her side and opened her eyes, staring at her boyfriend and girlfriend, "Good to see you in good humor, Kallen." Milly's eyes were suspiciously shiny as she leaned over her and stole a quick kiss. Lelouch was holding her hand and gently rubbing her hand with his thumb, "You gave us quite a scare."

"I lost." She growled out, slumping into herself.

"No, we watched the footage. You definitely won." Milly giggled, "If the VARIS shot hadn't deflected into the ground the Lancelot would have been weaponless. You would have finished him easily." She pouted, "Just a bit of bad luck really."

"I didn't win, so I lost!" She said mulishly. Lelouch rolled his eyes and flicked her on the nose, "Ow!" She glared at his grinning face.

"Don't be stubborn Kallen." He chided, "We got everything we came for and you were trashing the Lancelot." He leaned over and stole his own kiss. The redhead relaxed and deepened it. They kissed for a few moments more before Lelouch pulled away.

"So, how was your talk with Cornelia?" She asked, trying to move away from her own fight.

"I do believe it went better than expected." He smirked, "She definitely has doubts about Britannia, no matter how she tries to hide it. I honestly thought she was going to shoot me – damn the consequences – when I brought up the deaths of the vi Britannia siblings."

"You certainly _love_ playing with fire, don't you dear?" Milly pinched his side, making him jump.

Kallen smirked, "Maybe you should be a bit more careful, _Lulu_. At this rate even if you get her on our side she might still kill you." She laughed at the look on his face, "Anyway, how long am I going to be stuck in this damn bed?"

"You'll be cleared after you're checked over. You weren't injured enough for Britannian medical sciences to not have you on your feet again." He told her.

"Great!" She cheered and started sitting up, "Anyway, how's my Guren?"

Milly and Lelouch winced, "Err… you may want to avoid Rakshata for a few days."

Kallen cringed, "How bad was it?"

He shook his head, "Whoever the pilot of the Lancelot is made a brilliant final move and he probably has the devil's luck. The full power shot from his VARIS made your Surger malfunction and since it deflected downwards, the explosion almost tore apart both of your machines. The Guren lost one of its legs and the Radiant Wave Surger was mangled."

"She's going to kill meee!" Kallen groaned and fell back into bed.

…

Rakshata was indeed glaring at Kallen. Lelouch held back a chuckle at the sight of his strong-willed girlfriend sitting stiffly with fright, "Right, if we're all done shooting death-beams with our eyes." Rakshata turned her glare on him, but he had dealt with worse, "Have we all reviewed the footage?"

"Yes." They all replied, though Rakshata's voice sounded like two cinderblocks grinding together.

"Good." He crossed his arms, "What did we do well? What did we do poorly?" he asked, "And how can we make improvements?"

Kallen winced, "I got too zealous at the end there." She sighed, "If I had just kept shooting at him he would have run out of power and would have been easy pickings. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I got rope-a-doped."

Milly and C.C. bit back snickers at her expense.

"Ahh!" Nina raised her hand shyly.

Milly giggled, "You don't have to raise your hand Nina. We're not in class right now."

The girl flushed, "R-right!" She prevaricated, "I think there are some improvements we could make to the Guren. The Lancelot clearly had the advantage when they were at range." She pushed her glasses up, "Additionally, while the claw is extremely powerful, it is also extremely obvious. Kallen had the edge here because of how she was able to surprise the Lancelot and her close-range capabilities were much greater, but if she lost the claw for whatever reason, the Guren's capabilities would be cut by more than half."

Rakshata grumbled, admitting the point, "I'm afraid I have to agree." She said so with annoyance.

Kallen spoke up with a heavy frown, "It never came up before but with the amount of damage the Radiant Wave Surger took in his mission, it kind of looks like we may have put all of our eggs in one basket. If anyone gets a lucky shot off and damages the arm in a mission, all I have left is the MVS knife, a single Slash Harken and a dinky little gun on the other arm."

"True." Milly agreed, "But we _did_ see the Surger block the VARIS. Not even the Blaze Luminous can do that."

"The Surger is an excellent weapon." Lelouch said, "There's really no discussion to be had on that front."

"So…" Rakshata finally relaxed, content with the knowledge that they weren't even thinking of considering her baby a failure. And if she were honest with herself… Kallen did more than fine. It was just really bad luck that damaged her baby, "Your ideas?"

Kallen scratched her chin lightly, "Hmm, why is only one of the arms a Radiant Wave Surger? And why is it so unarmored?"

Rakshata blinked, tapping her pipe into her hand, "Hmm, I hadn't considered putting it on both arms before. Doing so would certainly double the effectiveness, but the power consumption would be extreme." None of them noticed Nina perk up at this. "As for the lack of armor…" She shrugged with a sheepish grin, "The Guren is still a prototype you know. Initially we just kept it unarmored because of the Surger's ejection system as well as the extension system."

"That'll be our first priority then. The Harken Boosters we took from the Lancelot would also be a great boon to the Guren." Lelouch said, "We wouldn't have to worry about the extension arm anymore which will allow us see about armoring it a tad."

"Already on it." Rakshata said lazily, "I should have the prototype ready in a few days."

"Good!" Kallen grinned fiercely, "Having two Radiant Wave Surgers is probably out of reach right now, so what other modification could we make?"

"How about Blaze Luminous emitters on the arms and the legs?" C.C. shot out lazily, "You love kicking so those would probably give em a little bit more oomph. Plus, you wouldn't waste so much energy blocking shots that didn't require your best defense with the Surger." Kallen's grin answered that one.

"How about putting a VARIS in the other arm instead of that cannon?" Lelouch asked Rakshata.

She shot him down immediately, "Impossible." She shook her head, "The VARIS is too big and complicated to put into the Guren's arm. It would just slow her down." She took a drag from her pipe, "Need I remind you that we have other machines to build as well? We still haven't tested enough of our ideas for C.C.'s machine. With her superhuman abilities it would be criminal not to take advantage of them."

"My machine was put at a lower priority for a reason." The verdette responded lazily, "My abilities do not make me a better pilot than Kallen. While I can handle far greater extremes and stresses than a normal human and my strength and reflexes are far greater, I don't have the natural talent she has in piloting. I will have to gain much more experience before I can even dream of matching her." Kallen preened at the compliments, "And frankly, I doubt Rakshata would be too pleased with me if I ran one of her brand-new babies into a wall." They all snickered at the Indian woman's twitching eyebrow. "What of the Raijin?"

"It was excellent in its first battle." Lelouch said immediately. "However, the whips were as power hungry as we feared. I had them activated for less than a minute and they drained almost ten percent of my energy filler." He scratched his head in a little frustration, "Don't get me wrong, I loved them and their were useful for disabling Cornelia's Gloucester, but until we figure out a better way to power our machines I don't think I can rely on them as a primary weapon. I'll need to be far more sparing with them or else we'll risk me running out of power far too quickly during longer engagements."

"I did warn you." Milly needled him with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah!" He rolled his eyes, "Regardless, the VARIS cannons worked wonderfully." The door banged open and they all sprang to attention, weapons slipping into Lelouch, Milly and Kallen's hands immediately. "Euphie?!" Lelouch gaped at his crying sister's face for a moment. He stashed his gun and walked up to her, wrapping her up in a huge, "What in the world are you doing here?"

"We…" Euphie trembled, before burying her face into his shoulder, "W-we didn't get everyone."

Kallen and Milly went over with dumbfounded looks on their faces, "We didn't?"

Euphie shook her head and wiped her eyes, "I- I don't know how it's possible! We were evacuating for over an hour! The last ten minutes none of the soldiers saw a soul!"

"How many?" Kallen looked horrified, holding a hand to her mouth.

Euphie shook her head, "I don't know." She whispered, "They're still digging the building out. Apparently, it was the only one."

Lelouch's eyes narrowed, "The only one?" He questioned, "Was it really out of the way?"

"No." She sniffled, "And from the testimonies of the soldier, it had been abandoned when they searched it. Apparently, the landslide knocked it off its foundations and started burying hidden entrances. We only found it because a Sutherland got swept inside one of the hidden tunnels."

Lelouch bit his lip, "That… seems very odd. What in the world could they have been hiding there?"

"Hiding?" She questioned in confusion.

"Yes…" He answered, "They ignored the evacuation and were in secret rooms in a seemingly abandoned building." He said gravely, "No matter how I look at it… _something_ odd was going on there."

 **-]|[-**

Shirley was completely elated when she received an envelope from her daddy. She opened it up while hidden behind a stack of books and had to fight hard to suppress the squeal of glee that threatened to bubble out of her. Her wonderful daddy had sent her tickets to a ballet she had been wanting to see for quite some time! She… she had a lot of time to herself the past few weeks. Other than club activities and homework… she hadn't been herself. She knew that other people were noticing how she didn't hang out with her friends as often anymore.

When the events of Lake Kawaguchi had been fresh, Shirley had just felt… betrayed. More than anything, it was the lies that had gotten to her. She had shown her heart on her sleeve and thought her friends had done the same. To find out that she had practically bared it to them while they kept their hidden lives secret… it had gotten to her. It honestly had. She had distanced herself from them because of it. But…

Time had gone on. And as time went by… as the weeks passed… Shirley realized she was incredibly _lonely_. She had thought she had more friends than just Milly and Lelouch (with Kallen there as well, but she had known the redhead for far less), but things just… hadn't been the same. She missed Milly's shenanigans. She just missed being around them. Her roommate Sophie… the swim team… they were just a roommate and teammates. Yeah, they were friendly… but it just wasn't the same. They weren't _friends._ She missed them all, and she was unhappier being away from them than she was unhappy about their secret selves.

So, these tickets really were a golden opportunity. She knew exactly who she wanted to ask to go with her, "Hey Milly?"

She watched as Milly's face lit up when she approached her. It was that more than anything that convinced her that she was doing the right thing. Her oldest friend had clearly missed her just as much as she had, "What's up, Shirley?"

Shirley smiled and offered the olive branch, "Daddy gave me two tickets to Swan Lake. Do you want to come with me on Saturday?"

Milly gave the girl a hug, "I'd love to!" Shirley smiled happily. It would be difficult. She knew that. But she was willing to put in the effort.

 **-]|[-**

Cornelia's face was like stone as the briefing about the people found in the secret rooms went on. "…far, we have identified three of the twelve." Pictures flashed up on the screen. A rather old, gray-haired woman, a young blonde man, and a portlier man with receding gray hair flashed on the screens. Each of them had a dossier attached. "We are close to identifying four more, but five of the twelve have been badly damaged to the point of not being recognizable. We are going to have to wait for missing persons reports to start cropping up and perhaps begin DNA testing them with possible relatives."

"Very well." She said with an exhausted sigh. Dealing with some of the ministers was absolutely insufferable. The man in particular didn't even have the decency to use some deodorant. She could practically smell his sweat from here. "These twelve were the only ones found thus far who did not evacuate. I want links!" She said in a hard tone, "Sub-Viceroy Euphemia had our men evacuating the populace of that town at gunpoint if they refused to leave peacefully. I hadn't thought she would go that far but clearly it was the right move. These twelve ignored over an hour's worth of evacuation sirens and were found in a hidden underground complex. What were they doing in there?"

"Sister." Euphemia called out, "I've taken a look at all of these dossiers. All of these people were very well educated. All three of the ones we've identified had a PhD in one subject or another." She bit her lip lightly, "All three had extensive knowledge of Chemistry and Biology in particular. All of them had some backing in neuroscience. The room they were found in was utterly trashed of course, but it was visibly a lab of some sort."

Cornelia smirked, "That's what I like to hear. Well done, sub-Viceroy." She turned her attention back to the affronted-looking minister, "What of the building? I want to know what they were hiding." She tapped a pencil lightly on the table absently as she stared at the pictures flashing on the screen. After every picture, the minister would give a little blurb on it. Frankly, she wasn't paying too much attention to him.

But then, her eyes widened as he started cycling through equipment, "These were broken pieces of equipment we've been able to piece together. The only intact one was found in a closet with a sturdy door. The landslide didn't reach all the way into the building. We know not what their uses are."

"Stop!" She commanded with a snarl. Sitting innocuously on the screen was something she recognized.

 _A young, green-haired woman strapped into a chair with her arms locked down. A helmet was on her head as she stared at the ground with her eyes closed. Many wires led away from the helmet and there were brackets around the chair that were touching her arms and neck._

"Go on." Cornelia said as she stared at the decently-intact contraption, her mood instantly fouler than it had been moments ago. And then her pencil snapped in her hand. On the screen was a picture of a crumpled looking contraption. It had been crushed and warped beyond repair, so it wasn't too surprising that the ministers were having a hard time recognizing it. But to Cornelia, it may as well have been whole. She recognized it instantly.

C.C.'s prison.

"Your Highness?" The minister looked at her in shock. Or rather, he stared at her hand which still held the broken pieces of pencil.

"I want every single bit of equipment in that place saved and brought to a secure location." She commanded, "Every piece, every computer, every hard drive. If there is even an iota of data that can be saved from their broken drives, then I want that iota. My eyes only!"

Many in the room looked utterly bewildered, but nonetheless, they chanted out, "Yes, your Highness!"

 **-]|[-**

"Kyoto complimented us quite a bit on our usage of the Guren. I thought that was pretty encouraging." Ohgi grinned at their masked leader, "I think some of them may have been pretty angry about the Burai though."

Lelouch rolled his eyes behind his mask, "If they're getting bent out of shape about us repurposing their trash then I'm not sure I have too high an opinion of them."

Ohgi held back a chuckle at his leader's irreverent attitude regarding the most powerful Japanese group in the country, "Anyway, here." He passed him a note.

"What's this?" Lelouch quirked an eyebrow.

"A love letter."

Kallen held back a smirk and Zero inclined his head to the side, "I'm quite flattered Ohgi, but I don't think we're right for each other. It's not you. It's me." He said in amusement.

Kallen bit back her giggles as Ohgi flushed a deep red. Tamaki didn't even bother and started laughing uproariously. "And they say you have no sense of humor." He crowed between his cackles.

"You're too loud, numbskull." Kallen elbowed him lightly.

"Not me!" Ohgi was still pretty red, "It's from Kyoto! They're urgently requesting a meeting."

Lelouch started opening the letter when he stopped, bringing it closer to his mask and hitting a button. A very small port opened up and he sniffed, "Perfume?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I did say it was a love letter, didn't I?" Ohgi chuckled himself.

He read silently for a few moment, and sweatdropped, ' _Why does this seem oh so familiar?_ ' He shook himself, "Well, regardless of that, is this really a big deal? Other than the Guren we've built everything ourselves."

"Well they are the biggest group in Japan. They're a pretty big deal." Kallen deadpanned.

"Plus if we can get aid from them it'll help our financial crisis." Ohgi continued from where Kallen left off.

Zero's voice – which had been decently warm for something so synthesized – went cold, "Financial crisis?" Everyone but Kallen stiffened, "There shouldn't be any problem if you are following the budget I laid out."

"Well…" Ohgi couldn't help but glance at Tamaki, who stiffened.

"Oi, oi! It's not my fault. We're turning into a big organization now! That means new expenses, you know!" Tamaki stammered, looking a bit shifty.

Kallen put a cheesy grin on her face and her eyes were half-lidded, "Oh, you mean like those nice, fancy dinners you've been treating the recruits to so you can show off?"

"Oi!" he turned to her angrily.

"Yeah Tamaki, I know you and how you act." She shot back at him, "Mr. Big Spender." He cringed back.

Lelouch held back an irritated groan. Why oh why had he even given him a chance? "Inoue, you were an accountant were you not?

The purple-haired woman jumped lightly at being put on the spot, "Ah, yes I was."

"You're in charge of the treasury for now." Zero told her, and she swallowed heavily.

He was putting a lot of trust on her with this nomination. She wouldn't let him down, "Yes sir!"

"Oi! That's always been my job!" Tamaki got ticked off immediately.

"Then show us some results." Zero said uncaringly, "Perhaps you should treat us to dinner at this restaurant as well. Out of your own pocket, of course." Tamaki's face shone with horror, his eyes white. "And I mean all of us. New recruits included."

Kallen smirked, "Hmm, I sure could go for some Bluefin Tuna."

"That does sound quite good." Zero grinned as Tamaki started to shake, "I'd quite enjoy some Kobe myself. How about you lot? Inoue?"

The purple-haired woman smirked slowly, "I've always wanted to try some high-tier Fugu."

"Alright! Alright! I'm sorry!" Tamaki bowed, "Please forgive me!"

"As I said… if you want to return to being the treasurer, then you have to prove yourself. You've wasted our money by spending it frivolously. Show us that you can be trusted with a job like that. Until then, Inoue is taking your place and I'll find something else for you to do." A beat, and a massive smirk rose up on Zero's face, "And you're still taking us out."

"ZERO!" The redhead wailed. This time, Kallen couldn't contain herself. She and the other founders started cackling at Tamaki.

…

A few moments later, Kallen slipped into Zero's room without knocking. Lelouch was sitting by his computer looking at various dossiers on persons of interest. "Whatchu doing?" She pecked him on the cheek and leaned over his chair.

Lelouch smiled, "Oho, not worried about the rest finding out?"

She shrugged, "They're bound to eventually."

He shook his head with a grin, "Anyway… I've narrowed Kyoto down to these twelve." She watched as he cycled through twelve images, "They're the only ones who are in positions where they would be capable of supporting the resistance."

Her eyes widened, "Kirihara? The traitor?"

"Why yes." Lelouch smirked, "I remember him well from before the occupation. I have zero doubt that he is involved. No doubt, we will be meeting him face-to-face."

"And the others?" She asked curiously.

He chuckled, "Well unless one of them is particularly flamboyant, I suspect Kaguya Sumeragi-hime was the one who wrote our little invitation."

"She's pretty young." Kallen raised an eyebrow in surprise, "She's still only fifteen huh?"

"She'll be sixteen in a few months, but don't let her age fool you." Lelouch commented, "Unless I very much missed my guess, she was taken under Kirihara's wing. If I'm right about that, then she'll be as strong-willed and politically-savvy as they come."

"So, what's the plan?" She grinned as he stood and scooped her up.

"Nothing too strenuous. Just a bit of a bait and switch." He pecked her on the lips, "I'm more interested in _other_ plans right now." Their lips again met as he sat them down on his sofa.

 **-]|[-**

"Looks like your fever is gone, Nunna." Lelouch smiled as his sister immediately sat up, "Pretending to sleep again?" He chided her gently as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck.

"I wanted to see you." She pouted, "Maybe I've just been a little moody. You've been distant lately."

He gently ran his hand through her hair, "Yeah… We've been pretty busy." He put his forehead on top of her head, "But I promise Nunnally… I'll always be here for you."

"What have you and Milly been doing?" She asked curiously.

He chuckled a little, "Se~cret!"

"Lelouch!" She pouted, before she gasped, "You haven't made me an auntie, have you?"

"Nunna!" He gasped, "Just where is that head of yours, young lady?"

She stuck her tongue out playfully, "Can you stay here for a little while?"

"Of course…" he smiled, and continued running his fingers through her hair. Gradually, her breathing slowed until she was fast asleep, "Sleep well Princess." He gently kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

 **-]|[-**

The next day, Milly was getting ready for the show she was going to see with Shirley when her phone rang, "Hey Shirley! What's up?"

"Hey Milly." Shirley's voice sounded a little sad and confused, which made Milly frown, "I'm going to have to cancel."

"Really? What happened?" Milly's heart sank. She had been really looking forward to reconnecting with Shirley today.

"I… I'm not sure." Shirley mumbled, "Mom called and said I had to go somewhere with her. She wouldn't tell me why. I don't know when I'll be back and I don't want to leave you hanging at the theater. It's supposed to rain."

"Oh darn." Milly pouted, "I'll buy tickets next time then. How about that? Cinderella will be performed in a month or two."

"Sounds great!" Shirley chirped, "I'll see you later."

"Later!"

 **-]|[-**

The ghetto Zero was standing in was completely mired in fog. He could hardly see a couple meters in front of him while he walked. It would provide excellent cover for sure, but he had no doubt that the opposite could be true. If Britannia was planning an ambush, then they were sure to be caught flat-footed. Still, Zero carried himself calmly, and a limo slowly rolled to a stop in front of him, "Good day." His synthesized voice rang loud and clear.

"My apologies, but you need your staff as well." The mustached chauffer told him, "That is what my master commanded."

"Of course." He replied, "My men are merely patrolling at the moment. I shall call them soon." The slot on his mask opened up, "But before that…"

 **-]|[-**

Suzaku sighed as he hopped out of his requisitioned Sutherland. He still couldn't believe that Princess Cornelia had promoted him to Second Lieutenant after Narita. He had been so shocked – what with what he felt was his extremely poor performance – that he had forgotten some decorum and had fumbled with his thanks. He was fairly sure the woman had contemplated removing the promotion afterwards. With his new rank, he was allowed to pilot a replacement Knightmare while his Lancelot was being repaired. As his promotion had been delivered almost as soon as he had woken up, he had immediately gone out to help dig out his fallen allies.

The only reason his rage had simmered rather than build was that they had been finding very, very few civilians. Princess Euphemia's evacuation plan had evidently worked wonders. But the sight of all his dead comrades – suffocated in their cockpits as their oxygen ran out – had him disheartened. They had managed to save very few while he had been unconscious, and by the time he went out there was no one left. "Dug enough bodies out of the landslide, yet?" Lloyd's lackadaisical voice was pretty unwelcome right now.

He sighed as he dumped the rest of his water bottle into his hair, "I'd like to continue recovery operations if that's possible."

"Of course, you do." Lloyd sighed, "Oh well, it's not like we can do much else. Oh, my Lancelot!" He wailed at the end.

Suzaku exhaled sharply through his nose, biting back a tired chuckle, "Lloyd, if you don't want me to be the pilot anymore, I would perfectly understand."

"Now what kind of silly thoughts are you having, Su-za-ku?" Lloyd enunciated his name, "You're the best pilot we have and only you can pilot my precious."

"I lost." He growled at the man.

"Look around you my boy." Lloyd said, solemnly for once, "No one in Britannia did any winning that day."

Suzaku flinched and clenched his fists, "Lloyd… Zero and the Black Knights… what are they trying to do? What do they hope to achieve by sacrificing all these lives?"

"Battle is what we all signed up for, Suzaku." Lloyd said cheerily, "Remember that they were all soldiers. Zero is an enemy general. This is what happens when two armies meet."

"But what about the civilians!" He yelled at the man.

Lloyd shrugged, "There were surprisingly few. The death toll should have been in the thousands." He chuckled, "The evacuation worked wonders."

"He couldn't have known that!" Suzaku shot back.

"Oh, I wouldn't necessarily agree." Lloyd leaned down and smirked slyly, "He certainly seems to have an answer for everything, doesn't he? Who's to say his plans _didn't_ factor the evacuation?" He giggled, which felt very weird coming from a man, "They are Knights for Justice after all. Haven't you heard?"

Whatever retort Suzaku was about to fire at him died in his throat. Across the field, he saw Shirley and a woman following Knight Nu. ' _What in the world is she doing here?_ ' he wondered.

 **-]|[-**

"This is taking too long!" Tamaki groaned for the fifth time in the past hour.

"Perhaps…" Zero had started to get irritated by the loudmouth two comments ago, "The baby would like his bottle?"

Kallen stared at him through lidded eyes as Tamaki drew himself up in affront, "Shut up Tamaki. You're embarrassing."

Finally, something different happened which cut off Tamaki's response, "We're going up?" His voice held incredulity. The limo they sat inside had jarred abruptly and noticeably started going up; the feeling rather like an elevator.

They sat on the elevator for a few minutes, before the car went forward again and stopped, "My apologies for the wait." The chauffer told them, "The master is waiting for you."

Ohgi was gaping as he ran towards the window, "This… these are the Fuji mines!"

"There's no way!" Tamaki shot back in disbelief, his eyes bulging out, "There's no way we can be here!"

"Looks like you were right, Zero." Kallen grinned lightly as the members of the former Kōzuki group snapped their heads towards her with looks of shock.

"Kallen…" Ohgi was staring at her with wide eyes.

He would have questioned her further, but Tamaki cut across with a growl, "Looks like we're right above the damn Sakuradite. The stuff that started this whole mess." He glared out at the settlement in the distance. "Intruders here get executed without a second thought!"

"Kyoto's power sure extends far, huh?" Kallen had her arms crossed below her chest, "They're flaunting right under Britannia's noses."

"They're amazing…" Ohgi breathed out, Kallen's earlier comment forgotten for the moment.

"It is an abomination!" A strong, wizened voice rang out. The windows tinted red and became opaque, preventing them from seeing outside. The room they were in consequently darkened. They whirled around and caught sight of two mobile-veils set up. They could make out the outlines of a man and a woman behind either screen. "Mount Fuji… a sacred mountain once known for its clear water and quiet beauty. And now it's bent to the empire's will, it's continual rape a reflection of what Japan has become." He clenched his cane tightly, "What a _wretched_ thing it is."

They all walked forward to stand in front of the screens, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Zero-sama." The female's voice rang out, "Though I would have preferred it to be in different circumstances." Only the man next to her knew for sure that her voice contained an admonishment.

He didn't care. He couldn't entrust Japan to her flights of fancy. He respected her as a leader for sure, but in the end, he was just like the other old men of the Six Houses of Kyoto. "We apologize for not showing our faces, but you do the same, do you not?" He raised his cane, "I must be sure. Sure of who you are!" He didn't notice the female clenching her fists angrily. How could he treat their savior like this?! Four Burai slowly wheeled into the room, their guns pointed at the group. Much to the group's surprise, Kallen did not immediately jump out to defend him. She had been his most ardent supporter amongst their group, so that struck Ohgi especially as odd. It reinforced his trickling thoughts from earlier that he didn't know what was going on anymore, "Which of you is Ohgi?"

"Ah…" Ohgi stepped forward, "That would be me."

The man commanded him, "You will remove Zero's mask." The group stiffened; all but Kallen reflexively glancing first at Zero and then at their friend, who again did not react in the slightest.

"There is no need." Zero's voice rang out for the first time. Kallen fought down her smirk as Zero raised his hands to his helmet and tugged it off his head. Or rather her head. Luxurious green hair spilled out from under the mask as she stared at the screens playfully.

"Wait! You're C.C.!" Ohgi gasped.

"That's right." C.C. said silkily, "And you of course would be the head of Kyoto… Taizō Kirihara." They all stiffened, "And how nice it is to see you again, Kaguya Sumeragi-hime."

The man clenched his cane tightly while the woman grinned gleefully. The two bodyguard who stood beside them finally reacted, "Anyone who can identify them must die!"

"Especially if they are not Japanese!" The other roared as the two started pulling out pistols.

But the Black Knights had a much bigger trump card. The Burai on the front right suddenly fired its Slash Harkens and destroyed both opposing Burai, before slamming its Tonfa into the last. All three machines went down in the barest of seconds. Even as it did so, Kallen and C.C. blurred into action. Both threw a kunai at the bodyguards which knocked their guns flying. Both men bit back screams of pain and cradled their injured hands. The rest of the Black Knights were dumbfounded as the two women moved so fast it almost looked like they were leaving after-images. Kallen crossed the distance in a few blinks and kicked the left bodyguard sharply in the jaw and he crumbled like a house of cards. C.C. – who moved even faster than Kallen did – swept his feet out from under him and slammed a foot into his chest, knocking the air from his lungs. A blade came out from her wrist and she held it to his throat, "I wouldn't move if I were you, darling." A wheezing groan of pain was her only response. One last, casual stomp had him out like a light.

Taizō clenched his cane furiously. He had been completely outmatched from the start. Kaguya on the other hand started clapping cheerfully, "What a wonderful show, Zero-sama!"

Kallen let out a little smirk as the real Zero exited his Burai, "Why thank you, my dear hime." He jumped down and leaned on his Burai's leg, in full view of the Black Knights, "I have to confess my disappointment Taizō. That was sloppy and uninspired." He chuckled deeply, "Though to be fair, with the quality of these Burai, I can't say I'm too surprised." His reward was a furious grunt and a clenching of teeth from the bald man, "I'm afraid your methods and philosophies are outdated. It's hardly a wonder you never win anymore."

Kaguya held back a gleeful grin. Taizō had been a good mentor, but it was clear he was failing as a true leader nowadays. His rigidity held him back and she had been considering breaking with him for some time now. Something needed to change for them to have any hope of victory, "I did advise that they find Sutherlands to base our models off of, but they preferred the immediate poorer results over the smarter strategy of patience. I'm afraid I was overruled." She pouted cutely, not that Zero could see from behind the screen.

Kirihara was really risking one of his teeth exploding from his anger. Especially at his age. ' _Kaguya… you little brat!_ '

Zero chuckled once more, "Oh, they served their purpose. My Black Knights have gotten quite good mileage out of them as training simulators." His tone turned darkly satisfied, "And the JLF models did a wonderful job in luring the Britannians up the Narita Mountains." He turned back to Kirihara, "Taizō Kirihara… as the founder of Kirihara Industries, you alone controlled the monopoly on Sakuradite mining. You were one of the key backers of the Kururugi Regime. However, when Japan fell you dodged the tribunals by collaborating with the colonial rulers and earned the name ' _Kirihara the traitor_.' In reality, you are one of the leaders of the Six Houses of Kyoto. You've provided support to the resistance groups throughout Japan. A double agent. How cliché."

He turned to Kaguya, "Kaguya Sumeragi… the niece of Genbu Kururugi and the head of Sumeragi Refineries." She pouted, annoyed that maybe even her Zero-sama wouldn't think of her as anything other than a child, "Your parents died young, but not before arranging a marriage with your cousin Suzaku. At a young age, you longed to be free of him and hated your responsibilities. You wished you could just be yourself, rather than the Sumeragi Heiress." He was speaking softly so that his voice wouldn't carry too far, but it was enough to make the girl go wide-eyed. That… that was fairly accurate information, and her heart started beating faster as an impossible dream passed through her head.

His voice rose in volume again, "When Japan fell, you shielded yourself underneath Taizō's wing. Rigid and intractable he may be, but he was an excellent and ruthless politician. He had to be to survive all these years with Britannia none the wiser. I have no doubt you have learned well from him." Kaguya began to beam, "But despite those facts, you likely have found yourself stymied even within the Six Houses. No doubt the rest of those fools ignore your opinions, thinking your age and gender work against you. Misogynistic relics of a misbegotten age."

"Correct on all fronts." She giggled behind her sleeve.

"You dare…" Kirihara finally growled out.

"I dare." Lelouch smirked behind his mask, "Though you were right to be wary of my true face, Taizō. Your suspicion was correct. **I am not Japanese!** "

The Black Knights bar Kallen all gasped and reacted, "What, no way!" Tamaki yelped.

Ohgi was about to say something when he noticed Kallen simply smirking by her place to the sides of the two hidden Heads. He opened his mouth again and snapped it shut with a click. She didn't look even slightly surprised. "You already knew…" He whispered in shock.

Kirihara was silent for a moment, while beside him Kaguya was staring at Zero in hopeful wonder. There was just no way it could be him… could there? Kirihara finally spoke up, "If you are not Japanese, why do you fight for Japan? What is it that you want?"

"I do not fight for Japan, Taizō Kirihara. I fight for the _world_." Zero said, "I fight to destroy corruption. I fight to annihilate the cancer holding us back from realizing our futures. I fight so that the weak cannot be taken advantage of by the strong." He clenched his fist in front of him, "I fight for humanity, and to start I must destroy the wretched existences at the helm of Britannia!"

Taizō chuckled lightly, before it turned into a deep laughter straight from the gut, "You are a fool. What makes you think you can succeed in such a ludicrous dream?"

Lelouch smirked lightly, "I will because I _must_." He reached up with one hand. Behind his head, the plates which held his mask in place slid back mechanically. He pulled the mask off his face and held it to the side, much to the shock of the Black Knights who couldn't see him.

Taizō's cane clattered to the floor, "You're!"

Kaguya beside him gasped out as her deepest wish came true. A single tear escaped her eye and the Black Knights watched gobsmacked as the young girl shot from her viewing box and leapt into his arms, "You're alive!" She was valiantly trying to hold back tears as she snuggled into him tightly. The rest of the Knights were dumbfounded at the complete and utter breakdown of decorum from some of the most important Japanese people still alive.

"How wonderful it is to see you again, little Kaguya." He laughed and held her close, "Though I suppose calling you little isn't quite appropriate anymore, is it? You've blossomed into quite a beauty." She flushed red in happiness, and behind her Kallen rolled her eyes.

Kirihara burst out into gut-busting laughter, "It's you!"

"It's been a long time hasn't it, Kirihara-dono?" Lelouch smirked at the man.

"Eight long years!" Kirihara confirmed as he existed the screen to get a good look at the boy… no… man before him, "You've certainly grown well."

"Better than you know." Lelouch chuckled, "I imagine Tōdō would even be shocked nowadays."

Kirihara choked, before he started to laugh again, "You!? What happened to manual labor being for peasants?"

"As you said." Lelouch's smirk deepened, "I've grown well. And I thank you for taking care of me back then."

"Damn it! I can't see because of that stupid cloak!" Tamaki growled out, shocked that Zero would ever remove his mask. He started striding forward, but a warning glare from Kallen had him frozen in his tracks.

Ohgi meanwhile had his suspicion confirmed, ' _Kallen… what in the world?! How did you already know his identity? Why did he let you know and not anyone else?_ '

"If I hadn't come tonight, were you planning to take our messengers as hostages?" Taizō asked him curiously.

"Please." Lelouch scoffed, "As if you would ever send anyone else. I'm even surprised you agreed to Kaguya being present." Inwardly he smirked lightly, ' _And if you had… well there are backups, of course._ '

Kirihara grinned toothily, "OHGI!" The man – who had been lost in his own thoughts – jumped, "This person is most definitely an enemy of Britannia! I urge you to continue following him! I am satisfied with his reasoning for hiding his face! I leave it up to him to decide to share it with you!" Ohgi's eyes grew wide, "You have Kyoto's full support, Zero!"

"F-full support?!" Inoue gasped, "That puts us right where the JLF used to be!" She mumbled in disbelief. They all started to smile in victory

"Yeah, we're awesome!" Tamaki crowed. All his friends turned to him deadpan. "Ahh, shaddup!" He crossed his arm and clicked his teeth.

"My thanks, Kirihara-dono." Lelouch said as he finally put Kaguya down. After the initial shock hard worn off she had gleefully started feeling up Lelouch's muscles. ' _What a precocious girl you've turned into, Kaguya._ '

"Is it the path of blood you're embarking on?" Kirihara asked with a wide grin.

"If it is my destiny." Lelouch's face disappeared behind his mask once more, and the echoing returned, " _I'll drag this world to glory whether it likes it or not._ "

"I shall be leaving with you, my Lord Zero!" Kaguya chirped, "After all… a Goddess of Victory must support her chosen, no?"

C.C. and Kallen came closer, and the verdette was smirking, "Caught ourselves a cute one, have we?"

"Oh?" Kaguya tilted her head to the side with a cute look on her face. Her inquisitive look was adorable, "Are you Zero-sama's harem?"

C.C. burst into laughter and Lelouch followed not far behind. "Oh, I think I'll get along swimmingly with you, my dear."

Kallen held back a groan, ' _Did we just pick up_ another _Milly?_ '

 **-]|[-**

Villetta sighed tiredly. The rescue had been going on for a few days now. Well… rescue was a bit of a strong word with how few survived. The worst part was the dozen they had found buried inside of that building. The soldiers knew what they were getting into. They _signed up_ for it. But these twelve were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that was horrible. She stared at the orange-haired young woman who had a deadened look of disbelief on her face, "Yes, the spelling of Fenette matches this one. I'm afraid this is him. I'm sorry you had to learn about it like this."

The woman behind Shirley with duller, brownish-orange looking hair was hugging her daughter's arm from behind, "It… it's alright."

"Ho… how did?" Shirley eyes were shining with unshed tears.

Villetta sighed again, "He got trapped underground because of the landslide… these twelve were the only ones…"

"Why…why my Joseph?" The woman behind Shirley started to cry.

"I'm sorry." Villetta bowed her head, "We feared the JLF would take this town hostage, so we evacuated them before the battle started using the entirety of our ground forces. I can't tell you why or how your husband was missed during it."

The soldier kneeling by the bag spoke softly, "Please confirm his identity…" He said gently as he started unzipping.

 **-]|[-**

"Ewan Booth… Jessica Carr…" Lelouch sighed as he scrolled through the first two dossiers Euphie had sent him. He threw the PDA on the table and began rubbing his face, "What a disaster."

The rest of the inner circle of the Black Knights were sitting somberly with him, "We did the best we could…" Milly said softly, looking very-much unsure of herself.

Kallen looked positively _meek_ , "I…"

Lelouch rubbed his face, when C.C. spoke up, "Every action has its consequences. Not even Geass can change that." She said softly, "You've all killed people before. It's a lot easier to overlook when your enemies are nameless… faceless." She stared at Lelouch and Kallen specifically, "A lot of people say that war is hell. What a joke." She scoffed, "Only sinners – the truly terrible – ever find themselves there. War… in war… almost everyone is a bystander." Kallen's fist clenched and Lelouch was clenching his teeth, "You tried all you could to keep the lives lost to a minimum, and I daresay you succeeded. If these twelve had not been hiding for whatever reason, they would have been saved too. But even the best of plans falter in the face of the enemy. I once told you Lelouch, that war wasn't a game. You now see the consequences of thinking you hold all the cards."

"I know! I know damn it!" Lelouch growled out.

"The human element… it's the biggest spanner in the works." Nina said meekly, "None of us could have predicted that anyone would willingly ignore air raid sirens and calls for evacuation."

"That's right. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." C.C. turned to Lelouch, "So now the question remains … do you have the strength to keep going? Do you quit now and let the lives lost be in vain?"

"Of course not!" He slammed his fist into the table beside him, "Quitting isn't an option. It never was an option to begin with." He slumped into his section of the sofa, "We're trying to change the world. There were bound to be sacrifices. I wish there didn't have to be… but that's not how the world works."

Milly took his hand, both for his comfort and her own, "All we can do is keep the innocent in our hearts. The second they become the same nameless faces as our enemies… we'll have lost our way."

Kallen was visibly collecting herself, before she took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and walked over, putting her hand on top of theirs, "We've gotten this far. To stop now would be an insult to all of the lives we've already taken."

C.C. smiled lightly at the resolution, before reaching over as well, "And if you should lose your way… I'll be here to smack you back to attention." The three snorted, and Lelouch was about to retort when the door slammed open. They all sprang to attention, ready to draw weapons when they saw who it was.

Shirley stood in the doorway. She was soaking wet and visibly freezing. Her hair was matted down and dripping, and her mascara was running. Her eyes were rimmed red and tears were streaming down her face, "W-why!" Her voice trembled. Her purse fell to the side.

"Shirley!" They all had stood and started making their way over to her when the word escaped her lips. They froze as the distraught girl looked utterly heartbroken.

She looked at them, her lower lip trembling, "I… I thought the Black Knights were supposed to be for justice! So why!" She fell to her knees in front of them, her sobs renewed, "Why! Why is my daddy dead!"

 **-]|[-**

 **Hope everyone enjoyed! I'm eager to see opinions on what I should do with Shirley. I already have a path written for her at the moment, but honestly, the subject-to-change disclaimer should still apply there. Next chapter might have some fireworks between the original Kōzuki group and Kallen, with her having revealed she knows Lelouch's face. Or maybe not. Who knows?**

 **I'm eager to see what kinds of ideas you guys have for upgrades to the Guren, Lancelot, and Raijin, and even the mass-produced units.**

 **Again, the next chapter is not complete, and I am – in fact – beating my head against the wall with it. CG is also not my current focus so don't expect it too soon. I have the bits AFTER the next chapter planned decently well, so hopefully when I get past this road block it'll be smooth sailing for a good while again.**

 **Cheers!**

 **Primordial**


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